Nothing's Gonna Tear Us Apart
by sunshinearmin
Summary: What's Armin's life in a post Eremika world. Watch him navigate love in a world where his best friends hate each other...or do they? Jearmin is the main ship
1. Chapter 1

**All I Know Is My Life Is Gone**

Armin POV

Armin had not known how bad life could be until Eren and Mikasa broke up. He had thought his life had been shitty before, but after that event, it really went downhill. He had seen it coming for months before it happened, but the fall out was more awful than he could have imagined.

The two had gotten together junior year of high school and everything had been sickeningly sweet. They'd barely had time for anyone else the first year or so, they were so wrapped up in each other, not even Armin. He had become close with Jean and Marco, and some of his other friends, because Eren and Mikasa didn't seem to remember that he existed. They got better by graduation, and Armin finally felt like he had his best friends back. And all was good their first year of college. Then, Mikasa got the internship and it all went to shit from there.

It was the summer between their first and second year. The internship was at a newspaper, working with the editor. It was a great opportunity for her, given that she wanted to be a journalist. She would have been an idiot not to take it. But it took up all of her time and Eren got jealous. Armin tried to assuage him, but to no avail. Once the internship ended and school began, so did the fights. By Thanksgiving, Armin knew the end was coming. He recognized the signs from his parents break up all those years ago.

Armin tried to tell them that if they were no longer happy, they should just end it. But they kept insisting that they loved the other. So, they all remained miserable for several more months. The rest of their friends didn't want to be around the pair when they were together, so they all left Armin to suffer alone. Then, the Spring Break Blowout occurred. It was a fight that would go down in the annals of history and Armin has a ringside seat.

The trio had gone to the public pool. It was an indoor pool, so it was open year round. The fight had started like all the others, some minor squabble over differing opinions. But it escalated. Later, Armin took Mikasa's side, as he believed it was Eren who had crossed the line. But it didn't matter. The damage had been done and it was irreparable.

Armin had actually gotten out his phone and started filming, because he didn't think anyone else would believe him when he recounted what happened. Eren and Mikasa had been toe to toe, screaming in each other's faces. Mikasa moved like lightening, shoving Eren backwards, right into the pool. She turned on her heel, grabbed her stuff, and began to leave. Eren surfaced. "What the fuck, Mikasa?" He climbed out of the pool and took off after her.

Armin knew he had to act quickly. Mikasa had driven him here. He grabbed the rest of the stuff and followed them. The fight continued in the hallway as Mikasa pulled on her sweater. "Your selfishness knows no bounds."

"Really? I'M the selfish one? You're the one who disappeared all last summer and is planning on leaving the COUNTRY this summer!" Armin saw they were heading directly outside and began trying to pull on his sneakers while juggling all of the stuff, and walking.

"You're going to hold that against me forever, aren't you? They are amazing opportunities for my career, and if you weren't so stupid, you'd be doing the same thing!"

"So now you're calling me stupid! Great!" They burst outside. "You know, you're no better than your mother!" Armin's eyes grew wide. This was Eren crossing the line.

"What did you just say?" Mikasa finally looked at Eren as they stood in the middle of the parking lot. The wind picked up and Armin shivered.

"All your mother did was pick and pick and nag and nag. It's no wonder your dad left. She wore him down to nothing! And now you're doing it to me!"

Armin was concerned Mikasa was going to slap Eren, but then her face became an eerie calm. "Oh, you want to see me be like my mother? Watch this. I'm leaving." She turned and stalked over to her car.

"Oh, so you'll just leave me stranded here? Real mature."

"Get fucked." She snapped back, unlocking the car. "Are you coming, Armin?"

"Armin?" Eren asked, almost hurt as Armin moved forward, quickly handing Eren his stuff. "Really?"

"It's nothing against you, buddy, but it's like 40 degrees out here and I'm not getting stranded here if I don't have to." He patted Eren on the cheek. "Also, it's kind of your own fault." He called over his shoulder as he hopped in the car. He felt bad as he watched Eren slowly disappear as Mikasa drove away, but this was a mess he had made and Armin was not getting buried with him.

He turned off the recording on his phone and rode in silence all the way back to her house. He was too scared to say anything. Mikasa wordlessly stormed past her mother once they got inside. "Mika-what happened sweetheart?" She looked to Armin, who just shrugged.

"I think she's single." He said before following Mikasa upstairs to her room.

"I hate him. I just hate him so much." She had tears in her eyes.

Armin wrapped her in a hug. "It's alright."

"No, it's not. It's not alright. I can't-I can't live like this anymore."

"Miki, what are you saying?"

She took a deep breath and took a step back. "I'm saying I'm done. I can't do this anymore. It's over. It's over." Mikasa moved quickly, finding a box. She tore through her room, finding every single thing that had ever belonged to Eren, or that he had given her, and put it in the box. After twenty minutes of this, she shoved the box into Armin's grasp. "Give this to Eren."

"Mikasa, I'm not getting in the middle of this." He tried to hand it back.

"You have to. If I see his stupid face, I'm going to punch it."

"Miki-"

"Besides, he'll take it if it comes from you, Armin. You're the only one he'll listen to. He has to understand that it's over."

"Mikasa-"

"Just go."

"But you picked me up at my place."

"Just leave me alone." She flopped face down on her bed and Armin was pretty sure she wanted to cry.

He let out a sigh and left the room. He pulled on his sweat shirt and sweat pants and left the house, saying goodbye to Mikasa's mom as he went. By the time he reached Eren's place across town, he was in a foul mood. "I had to take the bus." He said as Eren opened the door and let him in. "Do you have any idea the last time I took the bus?"

"Armin-"

"Also, it's freezing out." Armin said, shoving the box into Eren's hands. "That's from Mikasa."

"Why is she-"

"Because she's done, dude. She's not doing this anymore."

Eren's face was confused and then angry. "Is she breaking up with me…though YOU?" Until Eren said it, he hadn't even considered it like that. But that was exactly what she was doing. That little- "That bitch."

"Eren-"

"No. No, Armin. What kind of person ends a three year relationship through a friend?"

"While I accept that you have a point, I also feel compelled to tell you that she said she'd punch you in your, and I'm quoting here, 'stupid face'. So it's probably for the best."

Eren shook his head and put the box down. "Why is she doing this?"

"You haven't really given her a choice, you know. You've spent every day for the past nine months shitting on her for making a choice about her future that wasn't about you. You've made her feel like she has to choose between her goals and you. You can't blame her for finally making the choice."

Eren sat down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot."

"Yes, you are." Armin replied, sitting down beside him.

"I have to get her back." Eren ran his hands through his hair.

"No. No, Eren. What you guys had wasn't healthy. You guys weren't happy, and it wasn't good for you. I know you can't see it right now, but this is a good thing. Now you guys can move on, and find happiness again."

"I don't want to be happy. I want to be with her." Eren fell into Armin's arms and began to cry.

Armin thought that was going to be the worst of it. Boy, was he wrong. In the weeks until the end of the semester, there was quiet avoidance between the two. They were both sad about the break up and wanting to give each other space. They missed their friendship. Then, Mikasa left for her internship in Brussels and Eren's bitterness showed itself. He was resentful that Mikasa was putting a life together without him.

When she came home for the fall semester, everything came to a head. They couldn't be in the same room with each other without arguing. If Armin had thought their fights before had been nasty, they were nothing like the ones after. They were completely different people when they were together. Armin hated it.

It took a huge toll on him, but Armin managed to keep them separated. Mikasa was better about it then Eren. Eren constantly badgered Armin for details about what she was doing, then bitched about her.

"This is why I don't live with you, you know." Armin said one Sunday in January, while he was hanging out at Eren's place.

"What?"

"You've been broken up for almost a year now, and you talk about Mikasa more than ever. Move on, dude."

"I do not! I take offense to that."

"Of course you do." Armin sighed. "Are you going to Marco's party?"

"Yeah, it should be fun."

"She's going to be there."

"Okay."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. We have mutual friends. I'm almost 22. I'm a mature adult now."

Armin arched an eyebrow. "If you say so, Eren." He just knew Eren wasn't going to be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**All Caught Up In The Eye Of The Storm**

Jean POV

Jean had had a crush on Armin since they were 12 years old. But Armin only ever had eyes for Eren, which pissed Jean off. Eren was the most annoying person on the planet, which was infuriating enough, but he also treated Armin like shit. He ignored Armin's feelings, completely ditched him when he started dating Mikasa, and then forced Armin to endure so much shit as that relationship later fell apart. Poor Armin got stuck in the middle of a shit storm. Still was, really. If it had been Jean, he would have ditched Jaeger years ago, but Armin kept clinging on, not matter how badly he was treated. It was sad, really. Why couldn't Armin see that he deserved better?

"Jean? Are you even listening to me?" Jean looked up at Marco, who was sitting across the table from him.

"No." He answered truthfully.

"I didn't think so. What has you so distracted?" Marco had been Jean's best friend since middle school, so when it came time to pick a roommate, it hadn't even been a question. How the third renter in their house had ended up being Connie was much more of a mystery.

Connie wandered into the room. "Is this a party planning meeting?"

"Yes." Marco answered.

"Why do we have to have a party?" Jean asked.

"Because we haven't seen our friends in forever, certainly not together."

"There's a reason for that. Most of them are annoying as fuck, and put them together, they're unbearable."

"You're a killjoy, aren't you, Jean?" Connie asked, getting a soda out of the fridge.

Jean decided not to even deign to respond. "So, how many people are coming to this damn event anyway?" He asked Marco.

"Well, 14 people have said they're coming, not including us, but you know how people just show up to these things, so I'm planning for about 30."

"Fuck. We will have booze, correct?"

"Obviously." Connie said. "Sasha and I are working on that. Can I be in charge of the music?"

"Sure." Marco said.

"Terrible decision." Jean said, shaking his head.

"What are you contributing to this party exactly?" Connie asked.

"My presence."

"Oh my god."

"Okay guys, I'm trying to make a grocery list." Marco cut in, trying to get them back on track.

The back door swung open, and Sasha stepped inside, carrying several bags from the liquor store. "Hey, guys."

"I'd complain that you don't live here, but if you have alcohol, I'll let it slide." Jean said.

"That's nice of you, Jean." She grinned, setting the bags on the counter. "So, what are we up to?" She asked, sitting at the table.

"Grocery list." Connie said.

"Oooh, let me see what you have." Sasha took the list from Marco. "Oh, this is not nearly good enough." She took the pen out of his hand.

"Here we go." Jean muttered.

"Are you ever not a cynic" Connie asked.

"In all the years you've known me, have you ever known me not to be a cynic?"

"Annnnnd finished." Sasha set the pen down.

"Okay, let's go to the grocery store then." Marco took the list back.

"Oh no. I have to get to work." Connie stood up.

"Yeah, me too." Sasha chimed in.

"So, it looks like it's me and you, Jean."

Jean rolled his eyes, "Unbelievable."

Jean followed Marco into the grocery store 20 minutes later. As much as he complained, he didn't mind hanging out with Marco, especially without the others. Jean volunteered to push the cart, so that Marco could grab the stuff on the list. "Hey, Marco?"

"Yeah, Jean?" Marco looked up from comparing salsas.

"Did uh…did Armin say he's coming?"

Marco smiled brightly. "Yeah! He said he's coming with Eren. It'll be nice to see him again."

Jean sighed. "Eren's coming?"

"Yes, Eren is coming."

"Oh, great. What a fun night it will be."

Marco grabbed a salsa and put it in the cart. "Jean-"

"Oh. Hey guys." Both guys looked up to see Mikasa standing at the end of the aisle.

"Hey, Mikasa!" Marco smiled.

"Hi." Jean nodded. She looked really pretty, with a wool coat over a dress and tights. Jaeger was such an idiot. He'd had both Armin and Mikasa wrapped around his finger and managed to blow it with both of them. Dumbass.

"What are you shopping for?" Marco nodded to the shopping basket in the crook of her arm.

"Just a couple things Mom needs. You?"

"Shopping for the party."

"Oh yeah, that's Saturday. 6, right?"

"Yeah, 6 is fine."

"Okay, I'll see you guys Saturday then." She gave them a small smile, grabbed a bag of chips, and left the aisle.

"Feeling real talkative there, Jean?" Marco asked.

"Oh, shit."

"What?" Marco looked alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"Mikasa is coming…and Eren is coming…"

Marco's eyes widened. "Oh dear."

Jean let out a laugh. "Well, I guess we know what the entertainment is going to be."

"Maybe we could keep them separated." Marco suggested as they began to walk again.

"Our house ain't that big, Marky." Jean shook his head. "No, I feel bad for Armin."

"Yeah, I can't even imagine what this must be like for him. They've been his friends since they were little. Now they want to tear each other apart."

"This is why you don't date your friends."

"That's a terrible idea, Jean. Who are you going to date? Shouldn't you be friends before you date?"

"Not friends like they were."

Marco sighed. "I just hope they're not pressuring Armin to pick a side. Things are hard enough for him."

"Why, what's happened now?" Armin had had the worst childhood Jean had ever heard of, and the shit just kept piling on.

"He's in a fight over his inheritance."

"Still? I thought they worked it out with his grandfather."

"Yeah, but now his grandfather has passed on, so he's in a fight with his aunt." Marco looked sad. Marco's dad was Armin's lawyer, so they were intimately aware of the troubles the poor kid had.

"Poor kid can't catch a break."

"Yeah. Hopefully, Eren and Mikasa will act nice."

"Hey, I'll look after him at the party."

"Really?" Marco stared at Jean. "That's really sweet of you."

"He's our friend, Marco. We were there for him before when he needed a friend, and we should be there for him now." Jean shrugged as they stopped to grab paper plates and plastic cups. "Besides, you know I wanted Armin to be our roommate."

"Things certainly would be different if he had, instead of staying on campus."

"Why didn't he?"

Marco shrugged. "I don't remember."

"He can't possibly like living on campus. No one likes living on campus."

"Maybe he does. You can't generalize everyone." Marco dropped trash bags into the cart.

"I can and I will."

Marco shook his head and smiled. "Well, hopefully the party helps him take his mind off of what's happening."

"You guys look like you're feeding an army." They looked up to see Reiner, an apron wrapped around him.

"We're just running into everyone tonight." Marco grinned. "We just saw Mikasa a couple minutes ago."

"Yeah, I saw her." Reiner returned to stocking sponges. "So, you expect it to be a big party then?"

"Unfortunately." Jean sighed.

"Can you make it, Reiner?"

"I'm scheduled until 9, but I can make it by like 930."

"Awesome." Marco smiled brightly.

"Alright. See you Saturday night then." Reiner smiled at them.

"Yeah." Jean said, walking away. Marco quickly hurried after him. "I'm dreading this party more with every passing moment."

"Oh, stop it. It's not going to be that bad. I bet you'll have fun."

Jean rolled his eyes. "I doubt that very much."

"Always such a Debbie Downer." Marco playfully nudged him. "Just remember, there's going to be lots of alcohol that you didn't have to pay for."

"That's true. Okay, I guess this party won't be the worst."

"That's the spirit!" Marco clapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, next on the list is…chocolate pudding." He looked at Jean. "I don't think that's for the party."

"No. She's trying to get us to do her grocery shopping." Jean shook his head. "Goddamned Potato Girl."

"She doesn't like to be called that. That whole thing happened a long time ago now."

"Then she should stop acting like a Potato Girl. She's 21 years old, for fucks sake."

"Okay, so we're not getting that." Marco crossed it off the list. "Next is…toothpaste?"

"She's going to get it when she gets home." Jean grumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm Driving Myself Crazy**

Armin POV

Armin had been dreading this party all week. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his friends, but the thought of Eren and Mikasa being in the same room was enough to make him want to crawl into a cave and never come out. But at 830 on Saturday night, he was dutifully waiting outside his dorm for Eren to pick him up. He let out a sigh as the car pulled up.

"You don't look thrilled." Eren commented as Armin climbed in. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Something's bothering you. Is it your bitch aunt again?"

Armin shook his head. "Just cold."

Thankfully, Eren let the matter drop. "So, who all do you think is going to be there?"

"According to Marco, everybody and then some."

"Awesome." They were late getting to the party, as Eren had to work that evening, so they had to park a block and a half away. "A lot of cars." Eren observed as they power walked down the sidewalk.

"Told you." Armin could already hear the music from down the block. "Good thing their neighbors like them, or the cops would be crashing this party."

"Yeah." Eren chuckled as they jogged up the front steps. He rang the doorbell.

The door swung open to reveal Connie, who grinned at them. "Hey guys! Come in!"

"Hi, Connie." Armin smiled, stepping inside. He immediately felt warmer. He felt Eren step up behind him and heard Connie shut the door.

"Okay, so drinks are in the kitchen. Food is…everywhere. And Marco should be somewhere around here. Also, we'd prefer if everyone stayed downstairs, except for bathroom breaks. And Jean says if anyone goes in his room, he's chucking them off of the roof."

"Good to know." Armin said before Connie walked off. There were a lot of people here.

"Oh my god! Floch is here? Fuck that guy!" Eren said, leaning in close to Armin to be heard over the music.

"Be nice." Armin chided.

"Let's go mingle this way." Eren pulled Armin into the living room. It was there that things went wrong. Mikasa had been standing by the electric fireplace, chatting with Sasha, but she came over as soon as she saw Armin.

"Armin!" She smiled, pulling him into a hug. "I've missed you." They hadn't seen each other since before Christmas.

"Yeah.' He said, hugging her back. "I missed you too."

"Mikasa." Eren said flatly, crossing his arms.

"Eren." She replied in the same tone as she pulled away.

Armin wondered how long until they were at each other's throats. Suddenly, there was a loud squeal and something solid collided with him, knocking him several steps back. "Oomph!" He recognized it was a person, and saw they were hugging him. He wrapped his arms around them.

"You made it!" Historia beamed up at him. "I haven't gotten to show you the ring!" Ymir had proposed to Historia on New Year's. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Eren and Mikasa.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere quiet." Apparently, somewhere quiet was the sun room on the back of the house. "Look." She held up her hand.

"Oh, it's really pretty, Tori." He said, taking her hand and looking at it. "Is that a garnet?"

"Yeah! I about died when she pulled out the box, I was so surprised."

"Why? Ymir's been saying she was going to marry you since we were 13."

"Yeah, but I never thought she meant it. I always thought it was to get under Reiner's skin."

Armin smiled. "Well, that too. But as long as you're happy."

She beamed at him. "I am. I'm over the moon happy! We're thinking a fall wedding."

"Something to look forward to then."

"You aren't trying to steal my woman, are you?" Ymir stepped into the room.

"I would never, Ymir." He grinned as he let go of Historia's hand.

"Good man." She wrapped an arm around Historia's shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the head. "I can't wait for Reiner to get here to show him that ring."

Armin shook his head. "Some things never change." He left the room and made it back to the living room in time to see Mikasa vs Eren: Round 1.

"You're so oversensitive. Not everything is about you." Mikasa snapped. "I wasn't even talking about you."

"Christ." Armin muttered, jumping in between them before Eren could respond. "Eren, why don't you go get a drink?" he gave Eren a look, and the brunette turned and left the room. "I'm going to lose my shit if I have to play referee all night."

"I'm sorry, Armin." Mikasa said.

Armin sighed. "He promised me he'd be good."

After a couple more hours, and several more rounds of E vs M, Armin gave up playing ref. He'd rather herd cats than keep those two separated. No, he'd rather herd alligators. Instead, he ended up on the couch between Floch and Marlowe, listening to the most boring conversation he had ever heard. He should not have come to this stupid party. "You look like your soul is leaving your body."

Armin looked up to see Jean standing in front of him, holding a beer. "I can assure you, it already has. I'm just waiting for the rest of me to go with it so I can know sweet oblivion."

Jean raised an eyebrow. "Beer?" he held the bottle out towards Armin, who wrinkled his nose.

"No thanks. I don't drink glorified wheat juice."

That made Jean laugh. "So, what do you drink then, kiddo?"

"Absolut."

"I have Pinnacle."

Armin considered it. He shouldn't drink. But why shouldn't he drink? It wasn't like he drove here. He glanced at Marlowe and Floch. Anything to get out of the economics major company. Then, he glanced around Jean to see Eren vs Mikasa: Round 7. Fuck it. "Good enough."

"Excellent." Jean held out his hand and Armin took it, letting the taller man pull him to his feet and lead him to the kitchen. "So, would you like it mixed or as a shot?"

"Give it to me straight."

"Armin's doing shots? This I have to see." Ymir straightened up from where she'd been leaning against the fridge.

"Are you joining?" Jean asked Ymir after pouring out two shots.

"Why not?" She stepped up next to them.

Jean poured out a third shot. "Now it's a party." He said before the three of them lifted the shot glasses and downed the vodka.

Armin closed his eyes as the alcohol burned it's way down his throat. After a moment, he opened his eyes and banged his glass on the counter. "Another."

"This is the greatest day of my life." Ymir laughed.

"You're engaged." Jean countered.

"Yeah, but I'm finally going to see Baby Arlert drunk. Historia will understand."

"Besides, it's not like she's gotten married yet." Armin chimed in.

"See! He gets it!"

"Are you fuckers in here doing shots without me? Connie asked, bursting into the kitchen.

"Yes." Ymir said simply as Jean poured out another round of shots, adding one for Connie. "Do you have like a sixth sense for shots? Where did you even come from?"

"Yes, he does." Jean answered as they all picked up the glasses and drank.

The second shot went down easier than the first. His first instinct was to ask for another, but he figured he'd better slow down. "So, what now?"

"Now we wait, pretty boy." Ymir patted his cheek.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Sasha asked from the doorway.

"Shots." Ymir answered.

"Not without me, you're not." Sasha stalked over and poured herself a shot, swallowing it quickly. "Phew. Now, we're talking."

"Pair of drunks." Ymir grinned as Sasha and Connie took a second shot.

"Well, we try."

They stood around joking for a few more minutes. That was when the alcohol began to hit him. He felt great. Slowly, he leaned against Jean and zoned out for a while. Then, he heard Ymir say, "Well, I liked it, so I put a ring on it."

"I know that dance!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Connie asked.

"Sasha and I learned it in high school." He turned to Sasha. "We should do it. Right now!"

Sasha's face brightened. "I have the music!" She raced out of the room. Armin followed her.

"I have to see this." The other three followed as well.

"We should put liquor in Armin more often." Ymir laughed.

"Excuse us, everyone!" Connie called as Sasha cut the music off for a moment. "We're going to have a very special dance performance here in a moment, if you all could clear a space." The party goers looked confused as they slowly moved.

Armin took his place and after hitting the play button, Sasha ran over and joined him. As the first notes played, there was a gasp, and Jean's friend Hitch ran up. "I know this too!"

They launched into the dance, which had everyone laughing. Well…ALMOST everyone. He heard Eren say, "What did you do to him?"

"Let him have fun." Ymir shot back.

Armin couldn't believe he still knew all of the steps. But he did. After the song was over, Hitch followed Armin back to the kitchen, while Sasha started the music back up. He took another shot, and Hitch took one too. "This is way more fun than they last party these guys had." Hitch giggled.

"That's because we didn't have the party people!" Connie exclaimed, walking in with Sasha, Jean, Ymir, and Reiner. Their group was growing.

"I heard this is where the real party is." Reiner said.

"You're damn right it is." Ymir replied, pouring out shots for all of them.

After another round, some fifteen minutes later, Armin couldn't tell you how he ended up on the counter with Hitch. But his worries had melted away, and he was having the time of his life. "Ymir! You should put me on your shoulders!" He had no clue why this was an idea of his.

"Excellent idea!" Ymir said, walking over so that he could climb up."

"Hey! Someone should climb on Jean's shoulders. He's like the same height as Ymir!" Sasha gasped.

"Hitch!" Connie said.

"Fuck no!" Hitch replied.

"I'll do it." Historia said, appearing in the doorway.

"Yes, babe!" Ymir exclaimed.

So, Historia climbed onto Jean's shoulders and they began to playfully push each other. "Isn't this a pool game?" Reiner asked.

"Maybe we should go into the living room." Historia suggested.

So, they did, with Armin ducking through the doorway. He didn't know where Mikasa or Eren had gone, and in hindsight, he was glad neither of them witnessed what happened next. IT started out as playful pushing, but then Historia, maybe not knowing her own strength, shoved hard. "Oh, fuck!" Armin yelped as Ymir stumbled backwards, right into the back of the couch. She landed safely on the couch, but Armin flipped off of her shoulders, and crashed onto the floor.

"Oh my god!" He heard Sasha gasp.

People began to lean over him. Jean pushed past them all and knelt down next to him. "Armin! Are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry!" Historia exclaimed.

Armin's response was to start laughing. "That was wicked!"

"He's gonna feel that in the morning." Reiner said.

Jean and Ymir pulled Armin to his feet and Ymir raised his hand like a winning boxer. "He's good!" She yelled.

Everyone cheered. A lot of alcohol had been consumed by now. "Hey, where's Marco?" he asked as the group returned to the kitchen. "I haven't seen him in ages."

"I don't know. Several people have vanished from the party." Connie said as another round of shots was poured.

"You don't think there's a serial killer picking people off one by one, do you?" Sasha asked.

"How drunk are you exactly?" Reiner asked her.

"I think that would make things exciting." Ymir said.

"I for one hope Floch gets picked off next so I never have to hear him ramble on about stocks and the DOW and GDP ever again." Armin said, leaning against the counter.

"Dude, I'm sitting right here." Armin spun around to see Floch sitting at the table with Marlowe, playing cards.

"Oh. Whoops."

They all started laughing. "He's got a point." Hitch giggled. "You two can be really, INCREDIBLY boring to talk to sometimes."

"So, I deserve to get murdered?"

"We're ALL gonna get murdered, dude. Keep up." Connie said. "We just want you to be next, is all."

"You guys are great friends." Floch huffed.

"I'M not your friend." Connie replied. "Marlowe maybe, but not you."

"Gee, thanks." Marlowe said flatly.

Ymir suddenly flung an arm around Armin and hugged him close. "You know, if I was drunk enough, I could probably mistake you for Tori and take you home with me."

Armin looked up at her face. "Yeah, but I think you'd be disappointed with the equipment you found once you got me in bed."

"HA! If I was drunk enough, I'd probably be down for anything, and I bet you would be too, lover boy." She patted his cheek.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing." Historia said, shaking her head.

"Awwwe, babe. I love you the most!" Ymir let go of Armin and hugged Historia.

"Hey, are we doing these shots or not?" Reiner asked.

"Fuck yeah!" Armin exclaimed, grabbing one of the glasses.

"I think some people need to slow down." Armin noticed that Jean looked right at him when he said it. In response, Armin stared Jean right in the eye as he downed the shot. Nobody was telling him what to do. Not Eren. Not Mikasa. Not Jean. Nobody. Not tonight. Just for spite, he stole Jean's glass and downed that one too.

"Goddamn, little man. Look at him go." Hitch laughed.

"Cut him loose from his babysitters and he's a party animal." Ymir grinned.

Armin immediately felt bad. Jean wasn't being like the others. He was just trying to look out for Armin. "Maybe Jean's right."

"It's a little late for that now." Jean shook his head.

"Awwwe, but you still love me, don't you?" Armin stepped over and wrapped his arms around Jean.

Jean let out a heavy sigh and hugged him back. "Yes, Armin. I still love you."

As Armin rested his head against Jean's chest, his mind began to whirl. He'd known Jean was interested in him years, but he'd never really considered him. Why? Jean would probably make a good boyfriend. He was certainly more attentive to him than Eren. It was Jean who was with him all night. He hadn't seen Eren since the Single Ladies dance. Where had he gone? He hadn't left, had he? "Hey, Jean?" he looked up at Jean's face.

"Yes, Armin?"

"If my ride has turned out to be a piece of shit and left me here, will you give me a ride home in the morning?"

"Yes, Armin. I can drive you home in the morning."

"You're the best." He rested his face against Jean's chest again. He didn't know if he was smelling cologne, or after shave, or some amazingly long lasting body wash, but he liked the scent of Jean.

Suddenly, he found out where Eren and Mikasa were. "Have you ever considered the idea that maybe the entire world doesn't revolve around you?" Mikasa screamed.

"Are they upstairs?" Connie asked.

Armin looked up and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm still not drunk enough for this."

Jean started to pull away. "I'll go deal with them."

Armin's arm snaked out, seemingly of it's own accord, and grabbed Jean's hand. "No. Stay."

Jean stared into Armin's eyes. "Okay." Just then, the next song came on. "Connie? Is this Cheap Trick?"

"What? I like this song." Connie replied.

Armin wasn't sure what compelled him back to the counter, but next thing he knew, he was up there, dramatically singing along to the song.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sing It All Away And I'll Carry You Home**

Jean POV

Armin looked pretty adorable standing up on the counter, using an empty vodka bottle as a microphone. But Jean was also concerned. He'd lost track of how much Armin had had to drink, so he didn't know how drunk the blonde actually was. On the flip side, Armin seemed to be having more fun than he'd had in a long while. Jean didn't think he'd EVER seen him cut loose this much.

There also seemed to be a connection between them at this party that he'd never experienced before. If Jean wasn't mistaken, Armin was giving off the vibe that he was interested. He was staring right at Jean as he sang the lyrics, "I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'm begging you to beg me." Then he dropped the bottle as he broke into air guitar.

"I love drunk Armin!" Ymir exclaimed, raising her beer bottle.

The song ended and Jean stared at Connie dumbfounded as the next one started. "Is this fucking Karma Chameleon?"

"What?" Connie asked.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? I'm never letting you do the music again."

"I like it!" Armin proclaimed.

"I can see that." Armin was seriously jamming out up there. "Maybe you should get down before you fall."

"Nah!"

"Having fun with your boyfriend?" Ymir asked, leaning on his shoulder.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Somebody should tell him that." She nodded towards Armin. "It's nice not to see him cowtowing to Eren or resignedly following Mikasa around. He needs to make a life without them, because they're making lives without him."

Jean knew she was right. And besides, Armin deserved more. He deserved the world. "Oh Jesus." Armin looked like he was going to fall off the counter and crack his head on the tile. "Armin." He said, stepping closer. Armin turned and just stepped off the counter. "Christ!" Jean lunged forward and caught him, his hands very near Armin's ass. Apparently, this was where Armin wanted to be, because he just giggled and planted a kiss on Jean's nose. "Unbelieveable." Jean felt his face blushing slightly. But he couldn't be mad at Armin.

Ymir raised an eyebrow at him as Armin wrapped his arms around Jean's neck. Jean knew he should probably put Armin down, but fuck it. This was nice. "Okay, so we polished off the vodka, but we got some gin." Sasha held up the bottle.

"I think we're going to take a slight break." Jean said, shifting Armin so that he had a better grip on him.. One hand was spread across a surprisingly muscular thigh, the other on Armin's back.

"We are?" Armin questioned.

"We are." Jean answered. "Let's go find somewhere quieter." He carried Armin out of the room.

"Okay. Bye guys." Armin waved at the group.

"Bye Armin." Sasha waved back.

They passed Floch on the way, and Jean snaked out a hand and stole the bottle of water from Floch's hands. "Seriously, Jean?"

"Fuck off, Floch." He called as he handed the bottle to Armin. "Here."

"I love it." Armin grinned, taking it.

Jean carried Armin back to the sun room and deposited him on one of the chairs before sitting on another one. "So, how ya feeling, bud?"

"I feel great! I've almost completely forgotten Eren and Mikasa's existance!"

"Right. I don't think you can drink enough to forget about them entirely without risking alcohol poisoning."

"Yeah. That would put a damper on the party." Armin said, looking down at his lap.

"Not to mention, you would be sick." Jean was worried about Armin's headspace. He had a history of bottling up his emotions until he snapped, and hurt himself. "You know, if you need someone to talk to, I'm willing to listen. And you should drink that water."

Armin took a sip of water. It seemed like he wasn't going to say anything when suddenly he exploded. "It's just bullshit! Like, they're grown ass adults and yet they behave not better than five year-olds. He's petty and jealous, and she has no ability to let things go and walk away. No sense of decorum or manners. They don't even seem to notice that no one wants to be around them! And then, I tell him, you know, she's going to be here. And he PROMISES he'll be okay, he'll behave, and I'm the dumbass who believes him. So, I walk away for two minutes to talk to Historia, and he loses it. Now they're somewhere in this house, probably choking each other. When did I become their babysitter, instead of their friend? I don't recall volunteering to become a babysitter. I'm just expected to do it. Nobody ever asks me, they just expect me to do it, because no one else wants to be bothered, so I have to be the adult while everyone else has fun. Well, if I'm going to be a babysitter, I'd like to get paid for it, because I have enough shit to deal with." Jean raised his eyebrows. Armin seriously hadn't had anyone to talk to, and had been bottling up big time. What the fuck, Jaeger? The blonde didn't show signs of stopping either.

"Because you've got my bitch ass Aunt Sharon, who used to beat the shit out of me when I lived with her, thinking she has rights to my fucking money. Like first, she genuinely thought she was going to get the money my dad left for me. As if. But now she's after the money the old bastard left for me, like I wasn't one of his grandkids. Like, he may have hated me, but he still decided to leave that money to me. Also, what are her kids going to do with it? Squander it on meth most likely. Or maybe they're on crack now. I don't fucking know. But in any case, it's my fucking money. Like, she somehow thinks depriving me of that money is going to make me get out of her life. Just give me my money and you'll never have to see my gay ass again. I'll peace the fuck out. I don't want anything to do with her, or her dumbass sons anyway. The whole family can die in a fire, for all I care. Only one I ever got along with was her daughter, Amanda, because she's the only one who's nice to me. She gets as much shit as I did."

"Jesus, dude." Jean said when Armin paused for a sip of water.

"I know. Did I ever tell you that the only reason she and goddamned Aunt Jenny took me in at all was because the old bastard paid them?"

"No, you didn't. Jesus, really"

"Yeah, fucking $600 a month, and they still couldn't keep me for more than a few months at a time. Now, I know why Dad travelled so much. The whole family is bat shit insane. Wish they'd just be like my mother, take off in the night and vanish completely. Once I get my money and my degree, that's what I'm doing. Taking off and never looking back."

Jean had never heard Armin talk about what his plans were after college. He knew he was majoring in chemistry, but he never knew what Armin planned on doing with that degree. But he did know that Armin was smart, smarter than most of them combined. If any of them were going to change the world, it was Armin. "Sounds like a good plan."

"I just can't stand it. And Eren keeps nagging me about moving in with him. If he keeps carrying on the way he's been, I think I'd rather kill myself." Holy shit. Jean didn't think Armin was capable of having a bad thought about Eren, let alone voicing such an extreme reaction. It must be the alcohol talking. "All he does it pester me for information on what Mikasa's doing, then bitching about it, for HOURS. Like dude, move on. But he doesn't. I know he's still in love with her, that's part of the problem. And deep down, she's still in love with him, but they forget to act like adults around each other, so it's never going to work. And the worst part is that he doesn't even realize how shitty he's being. Like, he knows I've been in love with him for forever, and yet he insists on complaining about someone else, nonstop." Jean was just appreciating the irony of what Armin was saying, given their situation, when Armin froze.

"What?"

"Oh my god." Armin stared at Jean with horror. "I'm doing it to you right now. I'm turning into Eren." He buried his head in his hands. He seriously looked like he was having an existential crisis. Jean felt bad.

"You're not turning into Eren. If I thought you were, I would have punched you by now." Jean couldn't imagine ever actually raising a hand against Armin though. He shifted forward on his seat, getting closer to Armin. "Look, it's going to get better. It has to. I mean, you're already at rock bottom, right?"

That succeeded in getting a small laugh out of Armin. "You underestimate me. I brought my rock hammer, and am going to dig even deeper." Armin lifted his head and looked at Jean. "I've treated you like crap."

"No, you haven't."

"Yes, I have. You are so amazing to me, and I've only had eyes for someone who only has eyes for someone else. It's pathetic."

"Come on, Ar. We're in college. We're supposed to be pathetic…and drunk."

Armin smiled. "Oh, I am definitely drunk. The room is sort of spinning."

"That's probably not good."

"Probably not." Armin shifted closer to him. "You've been so amazing, putting up with my drunk ass tonight."

"Anyone would have done it." Jean shrugged.

"You're the one who's doing it though. I don't see anyone else here. You saved me from Floch and Marlowe. You saved me from Mikasa and Eren. You're like my knight."

"Alright, Arlert, now I KNOW you're trashed." What Armin did next really surprised the hell out of Jean. Armin leaned forward and pressed his lips to Jean's. Jean initially melted into the kiss. After all, this was what he had wanted for so long. But then, he began to think about it. No. This was wrong. He grabbed Armin by the wrists and gently pushed him back. "No, Armin. We-I can't."

"Oh. Was I-"

"It's not you. I swear, this is something that I want. But you are not in control of yourself right now. And if this is going to happen, I want it to happen the right way, when you're thinking rationally, Armin. If I did this while you're drunk, I'd be taking advantage of you, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I want this to be real, if it's going to happen."

Armin slowly pulled back, but he didn't pull his arms from Jean's grasp. Instead, he gave Jean a sad smile. "You really are amazing."

Before Jean could reply, Ymir burst into the room. "Here you guys are! Oh my god, you have to come see! Connie and Reiner have set up an obstacle course, and have convinced Marco and Hitch to do it."

Jean shook his head. "No way this ends badly."

Armin shot to his feet. "I have to see this!" Jean got to his feet and followed the other two down the hall. Now that he was standing. Jean could see how inebriated Armin was. He stumbled, and Jean put a hand on the small of his back to keep him from crashing into the wall or something. Armin smiled up at him and Jean felt his heart melt.

The obstacle course was a complicated one, that involved sliding down the hand rail of the stairs, climbing over the backs of the dining chairs, army crawling under the coffee table, sliding across the kitchen table, climbing over the back of the couch, crawling out the living room window onto the front porch, where they were supposed to jump the railing into the snow on the front lawn. Definitely no way this went wrong.

Jean stared up at Marco, who was already at the top of the stairs. "Icarus, you're flying a little close to the sun."

"Shut up, Jean. It'll be great." Connie said.

"I notice that you're not doing it, Connie."

"Marco's the least drunk person. He's testing it for us."

"Marlowe and Floch are less drunk than Marco. They don't drink."

Connie huffed. "Marco's the least drunk person willing to try it."

"That's because this is stupid. Even Floch can see how idiotic this is."

"I'm accepting your backhanded compliment!" Floch called from the kitchen.

"Literally wasn't supposed to be a compliment at all. I meant even a dumbass like you could see this is fucking stupid!" Jean called back.

"Still taking it!"

"Alright, I'm going!" Marco declared.

"Terrible idea." Jean said, taking a step back, and pulled Armin with him. He stood behind Armin and wrapped an arm across Armin's chest, hugging the smaller man against him.

"Godspeed, Marco." Sasha was evidently in line behind Hitch.

Marco climbed up on the railing and hesitated. "Do it, you pussy!" Ymir yelled.

"Ymir!" Historia exclaimed, lightly punching her fiancée.

That apparently did the trick, as Marco let go and began to slide. "Holy shit!" He yelled as he hit the bottom and slid across the hardwood floor in his socks, barely catching himself before he crashed into the chairs. Jean facepalmed, which made Armin giggle. Marco made it through the rest of the course, though he refused to jump in the snow.

"Bitched out." Ymir commented as Marco came back in the house.

"Are you planning on undertaking this enterprise?" Jean asked her.

"Maybe."

"That's a no." Armin said.

Hitch went next, and despite being smaller and drunker than Marco, she actually did it faster, and she did jump in the snow. As Sasha was getting ready to go, Connie declared, "Hold my beer!" and shoved it into Armin's hands.

"Can you even make it up the stairs?' Jean asked.

"Shut up!" Connie retorted. He had to crawl up the stairs, though, so Jean knew he was right. Jean took the beer from Armin and took a long swig from it. "Asshole!" Connie called.

"Don't just pass off your beer then, dickweed."

It was during Sasha's run that Armin paled, and then bolted into the kitchen. 'That's not good." Ymir said.

"Armin?" Jean followed him and got there just as Armin began to vomit into the trash can. "Oh no."

"That's gross." Floch said from the corner.

"Why don't you get out of my house, Floch?" Jean snapped back as he gently rubbed Armin's back. "Why don't you fuck off and get out of my house?"

"Poor guy." Ymir leaned in the doorway, and she seemed to genuinely feel sorry for Armin. "I have been there."

After about ten minutes, Jean walked back into the living room. "I'm requisitioning the couch." He said.

"But what are we going to slide onto?" Connie snapped.

"The floor, asshole." Jean snapped back as he and Ymir pushed the couch against the wall, out of the way.

"But Jean-"

"Armin's sick, douchebag." That shut Connie up. "And Reiner, if you slide down that railing, and break it with your big ass, you're also paying for any damage you cause." He looked up at Reiner, who was at the top of the stairs. He returned to the kitchen, grabbed the trash can and guided Armin to the couch.

"Poor thing. Is there anything I can do?" Historia sat down on one side of Armin, while Jean sat on the other. Jean resumed rubbing Armin's back.

"Some water?" Armin asked, before vomiting again. He was vomiting so hard he had tears rolling down his face.

"I got it." Ymir vanished into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Someone exclaimed.

"Shut the fuck up." Ymir replied, before reappearing with an already open bottle of water. "It's the last one." She said as she handed it to Armin.

"You didn't take it from Marlowe, did you?' Armin asked.

"Nah. Took it from Floch."

"Okay." Armin took a sip. Jean honestly didn't know how Floch kept ending up at these events. The only people that could tolerate him were Marlowe, Marco, and sometimes Hitch. Even Historia didn't like him, and she liked everyone.

"Do you need anything else?" Historia asked.

Armin shook his head. "Go have fun. Don't worry about me." That might as well be Armin's catchphrase. He never wanted people to worry about him. He didn't think he was worth it.

Historia knew better than to argue with him. She stood up and walked over to Ymir. After another ten minutes, Armin stopped throwing up. He rested his head on Jean's shoulder, and Jean wrapped an arm around him. Jean watched Reiner attempt the obstacle course and get stuck under the coffee table. Then, Ymir went, followed by Historia. The most surprising was when Marlowe went. Sometimes, Marlowe could be cool. Historia walked back over. "If you want to try it, I can sit with Armin."

Jean shook his head. "I'm good." He watched Thomas fall on his face attempting to climb over the chairs. "But thanks."

After another few minutes, during Thomas' second attempt at the course, Mikasa appeared from upstairs. She took in Armin's appearance, and the positioning, and just seemed to know what had happened. She looked sad as she walked over and crouched down in front of Armin, placing a hand on his thigh. "I've been such a bitch tonight. I'm sorry, Armin." To Jean's surprise, Armin didn't answer. What did that mean? "Do you want me to take you home?" Armin shook his head. "Do you want me to stay?" Again, Armin shook his head. Mikasa nodded her head sadly as she stood up. "Okay, well, I'll call you tomorrow. I hope you feel better." She leaned forward and placed a kiss on the top of Armin's head.

Armin finally spoke up. "Goodnight, Mikasa."

"Goodnight, Armin." She didn't say goodbye to anyone else as she left.

Jean must have dozed off, because the next thing he became aware of was Eren whispering. "Armin, I'm going home now."

"Okay, goodnight, Eren." Armin whispered back. Jean decided to pretend like he was still asleep.

"You're not coming with me?"

"No, Eren. I'm not coming with you."

"How are you getting home, then?"

"I'm resourceful. I'll figure it out." Jean had to fight to keep a smile off his face. Damn. Armin was a totally different person this evening. Rather closer to the rest of them in personality.

"Armin-"

"Holy shit, dude. I'm 22 years old. I can find my way home." Armin sounded really annoyed. He must really not feel well.

"Damn dude, there's no need to get hostile."

Armin sucked in a deep breath. If it had been Jean, he would have smacked Eren by now. "Eren, I feel like shit, and it's 330 in the morning. I just want to sleep."

"Right. I'm sorry. I heard you got sick."

"Are the pair of you done? Because there's other people trying to sleep." Ymir sounded like she was also on the couch.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Eren."

"Night, Armin." Jean listened as Eren's footsteps retreated, and then the front door opened and closed.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Armin. "You good?"

"I'm fine. Just tired and wish everyone would stop bugging me."

"Preach it, Arlert." Ymir said. Jean glanced over to see she and Historia were curled up on the other end of the couch.

"Alright, well I'm going to go and sleep in my bed." Jean stood up.

"Take your boyfriend with you. Historia and I need space."

Jean shook his head, too tired to argue. Instead, he scooped up Armin bridal style and carried him upstairs, stepping over Marlowe, who was sprawled out on the floor, in the process. Armin apparently didn't mind, as he nestled his face in the crook of Jean's neck. Jean liked the feeling of Armin's breath on him. Franz Kefka was passed out in the upstairs hallway, and Jean just knew he was going to find people asleep in some weird places. He opened his bedroom door to find Connie asleep in his bed. "Connie, get the fuck out of my room."

Connie groaned. "But there's people in my room." He protested.

"That is not my problem. Fuck off before I make you."

Connie groaned again, bt left the room. "You should be nicer to Connie." Armin said as Jean placed him on the bed.

"Go to sleep, Armin."

"I'm just saying."

"I hear you saying. I'm ignoring it. I'm not nice to anyone." Jean climbed in on the other side of the bed.

"That's not true. You're nice to Marco." Armin rolled over and looked at him. "You're nice to me."

"You're still drunk. Go to sleep." Jean didn't want to admit that Armin had a point.

"Okay." Armin scooted over and rested his head on Jean's chest.

"Not on me-" Jean sighed. "Goodnight, Armin." He wrapped his arms around him.

"Goodnight, Jean." Jean could spend forever like this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Do You Feel The Way I Do**

Armin POV

Armin awoke to warmth. He was enveloped in warmth. And then he became aware of the headache. It was the worst headache of his life. He let out a groan as he tried to open his eyes. He immediately shut them again.

"Uh oh. Someone's awake." He heard Jean whisper. That was when last night began to come back to Armin. He'd fallen asleep on Jean…in Jean's bed. While that normally would have sent him scurrying for a cave to hide in for the rest of eternity, his head hurt too much to worry about it. He could hear Jean's heartbeat, so his head must be on Jean's chest. He felt Jean lightly playing with a lock of his hair, and found he rather liked it. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like I got run over by a bus. Everything hurts." He groaned. Once he got past the headache, his whole body felt sore.

"Well, you DID fall off of Ymir's shoulders, over the couch, and onto the floor."

Armin vaguely remembered that happening. It hadn't hurt when it happened. "How much did I drink last night?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Armin. I lost track after about 5."

"Shit." He rolled off of Jean and opened his eyes long enough to grab a pillow and pull it over his head. "Can you smother me please?"

"Only if I get to blame Connie."

"Deal."

Jean laughed lightly. "Do you want me to get you an aspirin?"

"Can you make it 12?"

"That seems like a bad call. I'll be right back." Jean patted Armin's calf and Armin heard his footsteps leave the room.

Armin could just die of embarrassment. He must look absolutely ridiculous to Jean. He used the darkness of the pillow to let his eyes adjust. His mind began to go over the events of last night. It seemed like he was watching a totally different person. Dancing on the counter, making fun of Floch, kissing Jean… He sat bolt upright. He had kissed Jean last night. "FUCK."

He scrambled out of bed. What the fuck was wrong with him? He left the bedroom in time to hear Jean say, "Seriously, Daz? Why are you in my bathtub?" Curiosity overcame his embarrassment and he walked down the hall to investigate, passing a sleeping Franz in the hallway. Sure enough, there was Daz, half asleep in the bathtub.

"At least it's empty." He said, looking at Jean.

Jean just shook his head. "Bunch of drunk motherfuckers."

"I was a drunk motherfucker." Armin countered.

"Yeah, but you're cute." Armin blushed, and watched as Jean began to as well. Clearly, he hadn't meant to say that. "Here's the aspirin." He said quickly, holding out the bottle.

"Thanks." Armin took it. "I'm gonna make some coffee."

"Right. Okay." As Armin left the bathroom, he heard Jean bang his head against the door.

Armin went downstairs, almost tripping over Marlowe, who was asleep at the bottom of the stairs. "Jesus." He muttered as he looked around the living room. It was in complete disarray, still sporting the obstacle course from the previous night. At least someone had closed the window, since there were half a dozen people scattered around the room, all asleep. Ymir and Historia were on the couch, Reiner on the floor next to it. There were a couple of people Armin vaguely knew from school, Nifa and Gordon, also asleep on the floor. The most surprising was Floch, who had fallen asleep on the coffee table. That was…unique.

He stepped into the kitchen, where he found three more people asleep, Lynne, Henning, and he was pretty sure the other guy was named Gelgar. It seemed the only other person awake besides Jean and himself was Marco, who was already brewing coffee. "Morning." Marco said softly.

"Morning, Marco." Armin glanced at the clock on the microwave. 7:45. He hadn't slept very long. He never did.

"How was your sleep?" Marco asked, getting a couple of mugs out of the cabinent.

"Short." Armin said, setting the bottle of aspirin on the counter. "How was your's?"

"It was slightly uncomfortable. I had to sleep on the floor."

"Why?"

"Well, I got up to my bed, and found Hannah and Mina already asleep, so I just left them." He poured out two cups of coffee. "Do you want water for the aspirin?" Marco asked as he handed one to Armin.

"Nah. I'm making my own Excedrin." He said, popping a couple pills and taking a swig of coffee.

"Oh, well, okay then. I have creamer and sugar if you want it."

"I'll take some creamer." Seeing as all of the chairs (and the table) were still in the living room, Armin hopped up and sat on the counter. Marco passed him the bottle of creamer from the fridge. Armin poured some in his coffee and handed it back.

There was a loud thud, and both men looked up. "OW! Son of a bitch, Marlowe! Who the fuck sleeps there?"

Armin winced at the volume of Jean's voice. "So, Jean's awake then." Marco said.

"Yes, I'm awake." Jean made his way into the kitchen. "Sure you wanna be on the counter, Ar?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up." Armin replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Jean, it's pretty early on a Sunday morning. You should lower your voice." Marco chided.

"Do you think I care if I give any of these hungover bastards a headache?" Jean retorted.

"I'm a hungover bastard with a headache." Armin said, raising his hand.

"Oh. Sorry." Jean lowered his voice.

Marco glanced between the two, his expression unreadable. "How did you sleep, Jean?"

"Fine, except for when Jaeger woke me up in the middle of the night."

"He's good for that." Armin commented, continuing to sip his coffee.

"I'll bet he is." Jean muttered.

"You shouldn't be so hard on Eren. He's going through a rough time right now." Marco said.

"Aren't we all?" Jean snapped back, glancing at Armin as he said it. "You don't see the rest of us going around acting like we're 12." Jean crossed his arms. "So, he likes someone who doesn't like him. Welcome to the club." Armin wondered who Jean was talking about. Who did he like that didn't like him back? "It's his own damn fault for ruining the relationship."

Armin didn't want to talk about this anymore. So, he drained the rest of his coffee and hopped off the counter. "I think I'm gonna head home."

"Okay. I'll get my keys." Jean said.

"Oh, I wasn't serious about that. You don't actually have to drive me home." Armin blushed.

"Armin, it's like 15 degrees out and you live a 20 minute DRIVE from here. You'll freeze to death. I'm driving you home."

"Right." Armin followed Jean out of the kitchen, too tired to argue, and ran right into the back of him when he came to a dead stop.

"Floch! Get the fuck off my coffee table!"

"Ow." Armin said weakly, his hands going to his head.

"Dude, dial it down." Ymir groaned from the couch. "I know we all hate Floch, but it's too early for this shit."

"Or better yet, get out of my house!" Jean continued.

"Does your anger ever sleep?" Floch groaned.

"No! So get up!"

"Jean, please." Armin said softly.

Jean glanced at him. "Sorry."

After several minutes of searching, Armin let out a huff. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Jean asked.

"I can't find my coat."

"Take mine." Jean began to pull off his own coat.

"Oh no, I couldn't. I can just run to the car-"

"15 degrees outside, Armin." Before Armin could protest further, Jean's coat had been draped around his shoulders. "Alright, Marco, I'm gonna be gone for a while, so go wake Connie's dumbass up and fix our furniture please." He glanced at Floch and scowled. "And get that prick off of the coffee table. How did he even end up there?"

"I'll explain when you get back." Marco pulled Armin into a hug. "I hope you feel better, Armin."

Armin, rather surprised, hugged Marco back. "Thanks, Marco."

"Let's go." Jean, having pulled on another coat from the closet, grabbed Armin's arm and tugged him from the house.

Armin shivered as they got outside, and he put his arms through the sleeves of the coat. It was too big for him, but he didn't mind. "I'm moving somewhere warm after graduation." He grumbled as they hurried to the car.

"I second that." Jean said, unlocking the car so they could both scramble in. He started the engine and rubbed his hands together as they waited for it to warm up.

"You know, it's a good thing I don't have anything that requires keys, or this whole coat thing could be a real debacle." Armin was sure if he had keys, he'd keep them in his coat pocket.

"How do you get into your dorm room?"

"Keypad locks."

"Fancy." Jean said, pulling on his seatbelt and putting the car into drive.

"It should be. I'm paying out the ass to be there." They drove quietly for a awhile. Armin's mind whirled. Should he bring it up. He had to bring it up. Didn't he? "So, Jean." He started.

"Yes, Armin?"

"Well, I'm not really sure how to phrase this delicately, so I'm just going to come out with it."

"Always a good strategy."

"Last night is sort of hazy to me, but I think- I mean-" he could feel his face grow hot as he grew flustered. "Did I kiss you last night?" he finally got out.

Jean glanced over at him. "Yes."

"Shit. I am so sorry. I literally have no idea what I was thinking and-"

"Armin." Jean interrupted, and Armin shut up. "It's fine. We all act a little weird when we're drunk off our asses. It's hardly the most embarrassing or out of character thing you did last night."

Armin blushed even more. "Oh god. I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not. You just really needed to cut loose and you cut a little too loose, is all."

Armin lightly banged his head against the headrest. "I didn't kiss anyone else, did I?" he glanced over at Jean. His expression wasn't quite one Armin could place. Jealousy, maybe? No. Possessiveness.

"No, you didn't kiss anyone else."

Why would Jean be feeling possessive? "Okay, good." Jean pulled up outside his dormitory. Armin looked at Jean properly as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Seriously, thank you for taking care of me. It could have been a very different night if you hadn't."

Jean looked at him with a serious expression. "I would never let that happen. Not to you."

There seemed to be a tension in the car that Armin couldn't explain. "Okay, well…do you want your coat back" he still felt flustered.

"Keep it. I'll let you know if we ever find your's."

Armin smiled. "Thanks."

Jean smiled back. "Bye, Armin."

"Bye, Jean." Armin scrambled from the car and rushed his way to the keypad by the door. He made it up to his room and collapsed on his bed. His mind was whirling, but he was also exhausted. He had just begun to doze off when his phone began to ring. He fumbled around for a moment before he was able to grab it and answer. "Why?"

"Armin, it's Eren."

"Why?" he repeated.

"I need to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Dude, I'm outside. Just let me in. It's fucking cold."

Armin sighed heavily. He didn't want to have to get up and go back downstairs. "If I give you the code, will you promise to still call before you come over?"

"Yes."

"4630."

"You're the best."

"Let me know when you're outside my door."

He heard Eren come in the building and get in the elevator, and a moment later, get out. "Okay, I'm at the door."

"3725."

The door swung open and there was Eren. "Dude, you look like shit." He said, hanging up the phone.

"I feel like shit." Armin groaned, dropping his own phone on the bed.

"What are you wearing?"

Armin looked down and realized he'd never taken off Jean's coat. "Oh. I couldn't find my coat, so Jean let me borrow his."

"Right. Shove over." Armin rolled over and Eren climbed up into the bed and lay down next to him.

"So, what's wrong?" Armin asked as they reverted back to a habit they had formed as little kids. He rested his head on Eren's shoulder while Eren wrapped an arm around him.

"I feel very confused."

"About what? I'm too tired for a guessing game, Eren."

"About Mikasa."

"Fucking hell." Armin groaned.

"No, listen. I know we were fighting last night, but something seemed different. Like her heart wasn't in it."

"Sure sounded like it was."

"But Armin, I think we can make up."

"Eren," Armin looked at his best friend's face. "If you try and get back together with Mikasa, I will not speak to you anymore."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Is it my turn now?"

"Sure. What's up with you?"

"I kissed Jean last night."

"You did WHAT?" Eren sat up, causing Armin to roll off of him. Eren stared down at him. "You what? When? Why? What? Where? Why?"

"Calm down and I'll tell you." Eren shut up. "I got pretty drunk last night, so it's all pretty hazy, but I kissed Jean. Not sure what my motivation was."

"What did he do?"

"Pushed me away. I know he said something, but I can't remember what. But here's the thing, Eren. Even now, I know that I liked it."

"Armin, do you like him?"

Armin stared up into Eren's eyes. "I think I do."

Eren groaned. "Does it HAVE to be him?"

Armin rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Sorry." Eren laid back down and they resumed their previous position. "Does he like you back?"

"I'm not sure."

"Do you want me to ask him?"

"NO! I don't want you to talk to him at all."

That made Eren laugh. "That's probably for the best."

"I know it is. Why do you think I said it?"

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. Kill myself?"

"Yeah, that'll definitely solve all of your problems. Just make sure you leave all your money to us in your will so the bitch can't get it."

"Gee thanks, Eren. You're such a supportive friend."

Eren laughed and put a hand over Armin's eyes. "Go to sleep, cranky."

"That's what I was trying to do, until your ass showed up with your stupid half-baked ideas." Armin grinned, closing his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Don't Know How To Take My Own Life Back**

Jean POV

Jean couldn't stop thinking about Armin as the new semester got under way. Everything about his body language and actions that night indicated that the blond was interested in Jean. But he had also been heavily intoxicated. Of course, in Jean's experience, alcohol didn't put ideas like that in your head. It just made you more likely to act on the ones already there. Jean was so confused. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to bring it up if he was wrong…but what if he was right and he was throwing away his one opportunity to be with the guy he had wanted for years?

"Why don't you just call him?" Jean looked up at Marco. Sometimes, he wondered if his best friend could read his mind.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Marco sat down at the table next to Jean, a glass of water in his hand. "What's the worst case scenario here, Jean?"

"Um, I could die. Like literally keel over dead."

"Yeah, but that's worst case scenario in any situation. Hasn't stopped you before."

"I could be wrong."

"Lord knows that has never happened before."

Jean stared at Marco's freckled face. "You know you're not actually helping, right?"

"Aren't I though?" Marco winked as he took a sip of water.

"Besides, I'm going to see him tonight." It was Mikasa's birthday, and she was having a small get together.

"Are you going to talk to him about this?"

"I don't know. Maybe. If an opportunity arises."

Just then, Sasha bounded into the room, followed by Connie. "You guys ready to go?" She asked.

Jean looked at them, then back at Marco. "How did we get roped into carpooling with these two?"

"Dude, we all live in the same place. It's stupid to take two cars." Connie huffed.

"We're being environmentally friendly." Sasha added.

"I'm sorry. I don't recall us inviting Sasha to move in." Jean turned his head to look at her directly.

"Why do you keep fighting it, Jean?" She grinned.

"Because he doesn't know how to admit defeat." Marco grinned, finishing his water.

"Not to mention he's a sore loser." Connie added.

"All of you shut up." Jean said, standing up. "Let's go."

"Hey Jean, there's a positive for you tonight." Marco said as he put his glass in the sink.

"What?" Jean asked, pulling on his coat.

"Eren's not going to be there."

"No Floch either!" Connie chimed in.

"Well, then, this night is looking better and better." Jean grinned.

They piled into Connie's car. Jean couldn't say he was dreading this party. It would be much more low key and laid back than the party at their house a few weeks ago. Plus, the people who grated on his nerves also grated on Mikasa's, so they wouldn't be showing up. And he'd never turn down a chance to spend time with Armin.

It was a surprisingly quiet ride out. Connie and Sasha sat up front, chatting about whatever those two chatted about. The pair of them basically had their own language. He made fun of them a lot, but they were relatively harmless, and pretty good roommates. Pretty good friends too. They made a good couple as well, though they acted really low key about it, even though they had been together for years now.

They were the last ones to arrive. Typical. Mikasa smiled as she let them into her house. She had such a pretty smile, made all the prettier by how rare it was. She still lived at home with her mom. She was probably the smart one, saving her money. Mikasa led them to the living room where everyone was sitting. Historia and Ymir were curled up on one armchair, Reiner on the other. On the loveseat were two people who hadn't come to Marco's party, Bertolt and Annie. Bertolt hadn't come because he didn't like parties. Annie hadn't come because she didn't like people. Also squished onto the loveseat was Mina. On the couch was a surprise guest, Hitch. Jean didn't think she and Mikasa were friends, but here she was.

Jean didn't even have to see the face of the other person on the couch. He'd recognize that blond mop anywhere. And when Armin turned around and smiled at him, he felt his breath catch and his heart miss several beats. "You have a lot of furniture." Connie said.

"Yeah, but still not enough for all of us, even if we squish." Sasha observed.

"Damn, Hitch. You threw off the whole count." Jean smirked, regaining control of himself.

"Shut up, Jean." She fired back.

"I'll sit on the floor!" Armin proclaimed, scrambling off the couch.

"I don't mind being on the floor either." Marco said.

As soon as those two sat on the floor, Jean knew that's where he was sitting too. The biggest surprise was when Mikasa joined them, as Connie and Sasha sat on the couch. "Mikasa! You can't sit on the floor on your birthday!" Bertolt exclaimed.

"It's better than being squashed next to those two." She motioned to Connie and Sasha.

"Hey!" Connie exclaimed.

"I feel like I should take offense to that." Sasha said.

"Don't bother." Hitch said, patting Sasha on the leg. "Continue your blissful life without offense and bitterness. Don't become like Jean."

"Look who's talking." Jean sat back.

The room erupted with laughter. Jean sulked slightly. He hated when they laughed at him. But he felt himself relax when he a small hand patted him on the thigh. "Don't worry, Jean. We still love you anyway." Armin smiled at him and Jean felt his heart melt.

"Hey, everybody's here now, so can we play?" Reiner asked.

"You're insatiable." Annie huffed, crossing her arms.

"Play what?" Connie asked.

"Never Have I Ever." Mina said.

"Yes! Let's do it!" Sasha exclaimed excitedly.

"Should have known the drunks would be down to play." Ymir rolled her eyes.

"I'll go get the stuff." Mikasa rose to her feet.

"I'll help!" Armin followed her from the room.

They all sat quietly for a moment. "So, where's your boyfriend tonight, Hitch?" Jean asked, leaning his head back to look at her.

"He's not my boyfriend. I swear to God, you call him that one more time…"

"Honestly, Jean. Can't you see she's a raging lesbian?" Ymir asked.

"How can you tell that?" Bertolt asked.

"Because I'm also a raging lesbian, Pit stains."

"YMIR!" Historia scolded. Bertolt just blushed. They all knew Bertolt was a very sweaty man.

Hitch doubled over laughing. "WHAT did you just call him?" Sasha asked.

"He's Pit stains. And that one's Moobies." Ymir pointed at Reiner.

"Do you have mean nicknames for all of us?" Jean asked.

"Yes, I do, Horseface."

Jean rolled his eyes. "Really? That old shit?"

"Why fix what isn't broken? Isn't that right, Potato Girl?"

"Sometimes, I really don't like you." Sasha huffed.

"What other mean nicknames you got?" Hitch asked.

"Let's see. We've got Bitchface McGee over there next to Pit Stains." Annie didn't react. "Runt is with Potato Girl." Ymir continued.

"Really?" Connie asked.

"Freckled Jesus is on the floor." Marco nodded his head. It was not the first time he'd been referred to as that. "The Angry Murder Child is no longer welcome in this house. And there's Little Coconut Head." She grinned as Armin came into the room carrying shot glasses. "Alternatively, Male Historia."

"Fair enough." Armin said simply, passing out a glass to everyone.

"And there's Soulless Dead Eyes." Ymir said as Mikasa came with two bottles of rum.

"I try." Mikasa said flatly.

"What about me? Do I have a nickname?" Hitch asked.

Ymir grinned wickedly. "Hitch The Bitch."

Hitch grinned back. "I love it."

"Of course you do. You've been relishing in being called Hitch the Witch since 2nd grade." Marco smirked.

"And there's your platonic husband, Bowlcut."

"You never answered my question for earlier." Jean interrupted as Mikasa began pouring shots.

"What question?"

"Where's Bowlcut tonight?"

"He's working tonight." Hitch answered.

"Lots of traffic in the campus library on a Saturday evening?" Reiner asked sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised." Hitch replied.

"It's where I usually am." Armin interjected, sitting down beside Jean.

"Yeah, I know. I see you every Saturday." Hitch smiled.

"What? So it that where all my friends are on Saturdays?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, we're hiding from you." Marco said. "You'd never think to look for us there. You don't even know where it is."

"I think you have me confused with Connie." Jean retorted.

"Shut the fuck up." Connie shot back.

"Alright, let's play." Mikasa said, sitting down on the other side of Armin. "I'll start. We all know the rules, correct?"

They all nodded their assent. "Let me just sit down here." Mina said, moving to the floor.

"I'm only playing a couple of rounds." Marco said.

"How come? Scared we'll drink you under the table?" Hitch smirked.

"No, I'm the designated driver."

"Who says you can drive my car?" Connie asked.

"These do." Marco held up Connie's keys.

Connie's hands immediately went to his pockets. "How in the hell?"

They all started laughing and Marco grinned. "You'll thank me later when you want to go home, Con."

"Sneaky bastard. Damn pickpocket." Connie muttered under his breath. Sasha sympathetically patted his knee.

"Okay, I'm starting now." Mikasa said.

"Hang on." Reiner interrupted. "What's the order after that? Because we're not exactly in a circle or anything."

"We COULD be in a circle, if we all adjust slightly." Armin said, peering around. "See, Mina, stay where you are. Mikasa and I are fine too. So, it Marco slides down next to Mina and Jean picks a side of the couch, we'll be in a circle." Marco slid down over and Jean scooted closer to Armin. This wasn't going to be something he complained about.

"We'll go clockwise after me." Mikasa said. "So, Bertolt goes next. Okay. Let's see. Never have I ever kissed a girl."

"That was directed at me, and I feel victimized." Ymir said before taking her shot. Historia also drank. Jean took his shot and was surprised to see Armin drink.

"What girls have you been kissing?" Connie asked.

"Me." Mikasa replied simply.

"WHAT?!" Sasha yelled. "When? Where? I need details!"

"When we were eleven." Armin said as Connie, Hitch, Reiner, Bertolt, and Marco all took their shots and the glasses were refilled.

"We decided we wanted to get our first kiss out of the way." Mikasa explained. "And we wanted it to be a good memory. So, who better than your best friend?"

"That's adorable." Historia giggled. "Ymir was my first kiss, in 10th grade."

"That is surprising to no one." Jean said.

"Okay, butt munch. Who was YOUR first kiss?" Ymir asked.

She and Jean stared at each other for a moment before Jean finally answered. "Hannah Diamont. In 8th grade."

"No fucking way!" Connie exclaimed, making them all look at him.

"Why do you sound so personally offended?" Jean asked.

"Because I asked her out in 10th grade, before she and Franz went steady, and she told me she had never looked at another boy besides Franz…lying bitch."

"Connie's really baring his soul here." Reiner laughed.

"My first kiss was Thomas." Mina said. "In ninth grade."

"Actually, Connie's not going to like this, but Hannah was also my first kiss, in 9th grade." Marco grinned.

"That little lying asshole." Connie huffed.

"Maybe she just really didn't like you, Cons." Ymir said sympathetically. "Happens to the best of us."

"My first kiss was with Boris Fuelner so we all make poor decisions." Hitch grimaced. "Heteronormativity's a bitch."

"Ain't that the truth?" Ymir said.

"When were you kissing Boris?" Jean asked.

"9th grade."

"Ah, well no one can fault you there. We all were pretty stupid at 14."

"Some of us are still pretty stupid." Ymir grinned, looking at Connie as she said it.

Jean noticed that Bertolt had a shit eating grin on his face. Apparently, Reiner also noticed it. "Why does your face look like that, Bert?"

"Because I also had my first kiss with Hannah in 9th grade." Bertolt grinned.

"Son of a bitch! What the fuck?" Connie exclaimed angrily.

"Damn. Hannah seriously got around." Hitch giggled.

"Connie, have you considered that maybe Hannah didn't like you because you're short?" Armin asked.

"Not you too." Connie groaned.

"No, I'm being serious. I mean, look at the evidence. Jean and Marco are decently tall. Franz is pretty tall. Bertl's a giant. She kissed all of them. You're short and she never kissed you. I'M short and she never kissed ME. So, there's likely a correlation."

"I can't believe Armin just figured out Hannah's type without ever talking to Hannah." Mina giggled.

"So, Connie, since we all obviously know you didn't get it from Hannah, who WAS your first kiss?" Reiner asked.

"Sasha." He said, motioning to her with his thumb. "Also, I'm calling bullshit that coconut head was getting it at fucking 11, and I had to wait until I was 17!"

"That's because Armin is actually likable and attractive." Jean shot back. He felt a need to defend Armin, since he knew Armin wouldn't defend himself.

"Get fucked, Jean."

"I had my first kiss at 12." Ymir cut in. "With this girl in my neighborhood, Madison. So, it must just be you, Short Stuff."

"Who was your first kiss, Sasha?" Mina asked.

"Uh, Connie." Sasha blushed slightly.

"Awwwe, that's adorable." Historia giggled.

"My first kiss was Eren." Reiner said.

Everyone's eyes shot to him in surprise. Well, everyone except Armin, Jean noticed. He must have already known. "WHAT?" Connie and Sasha exclaimed in unison.

"You know we're going to need details, right?" Ymir asked.

"It was in 10th grade, and he was curious as to how kissing a boy was different from kissing a girl." Reiner shrugged. "I said 'wanna find out?' And I guess he did."

"So, he kissed YOU?" Connie questioned in a confused tone. "Why wouldn't he kiss Armin?"

Armin looked uncomfortable. Jean wanted to smack Connie. "No one ever accused Eren of having good taste." Mikasa snapped at Connie.

"Are you saying you're not good taste, because GURL." Hitch eyed Mikasa up and down.

"Keep it in your pants, Hitch." Jean huffed.

"Annie, you're the only one who hasn't said." Sasha piped up.

Annie exchanged looks with Armin. The two of them seemed to be having a whole conversation without words. Jean hadn't realized they were that close. Finally, Annie spoke up. "My first kiss was with Armin, in 12th grade. So, you're not the only late bloomer, Connie."

"How many girls has your gay ass kissed, Arlert?" Ymir yelled.

"Three. Mikasa, Annie, and…" he paused.

"And me!" Historia proclaimed.

"WHAT?" Ymir stared at her. "You never told me. When? Why?"

"In 10th grade, before we started going out but after you kissed me that first time. I wanted to see what it was like to kiss a boy."

"So you picked Armin? He's half a girl!"  
"Gee, thanks." Armin sighed.

"If you want a guy, you pick Jean or Bertolt or the likes."

"Thanks….I think…" Jean said. He wasn't sure how to take that.

"Annie, why were you kissing Armin?" Marco asked.

"Because I didn't want to graduate high school having never been kissed, and Armin's a gentleman. Also, he's a good kisser so you all are missing out."

Armin blushed and looked down. "I might have to take him up later." Hitch grinned. "Wanna up your number to four?"

"Keep your dirty hands off of him, Dreyse." Jean said. "You'll give him a disease.

"Are you saying I'm diseased, Kirschstein?"

"So, Armin-" Connie interrupted. "If you've kissed 3 girls, how many guys have you kissed?"

"Why? Do you want to be next?" Reiner asked.

"NO!"  
"It's…more than three." Armin said quickly. "I think it's Bert's turn." Jean was curious why that wasn't something Armin wanted to talk about. He had never made it a secret that he was gay, since he'd come out in 10th grade. Maybe it was someone in particular that he had kissed. Jean froze. Was it HIM?

He glanced over and noticed Armin was pretty flushed. Was Armin embarrassed over having kissed him? Had he not meant that kiss? Jean felt sick to his stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

**Daylight Is Coming To Break The Dawn**

Armin POV

Armin had a sinking suspicion that he was going to be made to drink a LOT. Some of the people in this group were rather vindictive, and Hitch in particular had a malicious twinkle in her eye.

"Well, I guess continuing off of Mikasa, never have I ever kissed a guy." Bertolt said.

"I'm being targeted." Armin huffed, before taking his shot.

"I'm not." Ymir grinned.

The only ones to not drink were Marco, Connie, and Ymir. "Really, Marco?" Reiner asked. "You never kissed another guy before?"

"I would have thought you would have at least been kissed by Jean." Ymir smirked.

"Shut up, Ymir." Jean snipped.

"No. I haven't kissed another guy." Marco said.

Armin was struck with an idea. "Do you want to?"

Marco furrowed his brow. "Are you offering, Armin?" Armin shrugged his shoulders.

"What does that mean?" Reiner asked.

"I think he's leaving it up to Marco." Hitch answered.

Armin could see most people's gaze was on Marco. Sasha and Connie were looking between the two. But Jean…Jean was just staring right at Armin. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. In the month since Marco's party, Armin hadn't seen Jean, and Jean hadn't made any moves like he wanted to pursue what had been started, but maybe he wanted to. Maybe he felt just like Armin did, unsure and tongue tied.

"I think I'll keep my streak going." Marco finally said, breaking the tension.

"Then, it's my turn." Annie said. Armin breathed a sigh of relief as Jean finally looked away. He had started to feel uncomfortable with how intensely Jean had been staring at him. "Never have I ever kissed Eren." Annie said.

Reiner and Mikasa both took a shot. "Wait, where are we talking about? Any specific body parts?" Armin asked.

"What body part are YOU talking about?" Ymir asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not asking you." Armin replied. "Annie?"

"Anywhere." Annie answered.

"Dammit." Armin groaned, before taking his shot. He could feel Jean's eyes on him again. "You all can get your mind out of the gutter. It wasn't anything dirty." He huffed.

"Eren and Armin have always been super affectionate with each other." Mikasa explained.

"You said that in current tense." Hitch said in a questioning tone.

"That's because they still are." Mikasa shrugged.

"My turn." Reiner said as the glasses were refilled. "Never have I ever drank whiskey."

"I hate all of you." Armin huffed, taking his shot.

"Armin's going to be trashed." Hitch giggled.

"Yeah, we're going to get a repeat of Marco's party." Armin sighed.

"No, we're not." Jean said. Armin looked over at him. His face looked concerned.

"How about you switch to something else for a while?" Mikasa suggested.

"That's probably a good idea." Armin said.

"My turn." Historia giggled. Everyone else had taken a shot on the last round. "Let's see…never have I ever smoked weed."

"How could you betray me like this?" Ymir gasped as she took her shot.

"Oh thank god." Armin breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he didn't have to drink.

Connie, Sasha, and Hitch all took shots, as did Jean, Reiner, and Mikasa. The most surprising were Bertolt and Marco. "Marco, you've become much more interesting to me." Ymir smirked.

"I can't believe Mina hasn't had pot before." Connie said.

"Hey, hey, hey. That wasn't the statement." Mina countered, making them laugh. "The statement was SMOKE it. Edibles are not a part of that."

The room erupted into laughter. "I appreciate your bending of the rules." Reiner chuckled.

"No, no. I didn't bend the rules. I followed the rules exactly." Mina grinned.

"Alright, I think it's my turn." Ymir said.

"But we didn't find anything else for Armin to drink." Sasha interjected.

"I think Arlert's good for one more round." Ymir smirked.

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" Armin groaned.

"Maybe I'm trying to tank Hitch. She's equal with you."

"So am I." Reiner said. "And I think Jean."

"Yes." Jean sighed. Armin glanced over at him. Was Jean keeping track of much Armin was drinking? Coupled with his earlier sentiment, Armin couldn't help but find it sweet.

"Alright. This is going to be hard because I've done most things." Ymir said.

"Hitch is going to have the same problem." Jean smirked.

"Shut up. I already know what I'm saying and SOMEONE is not going to like it." She stared right at Armin as she said it.

Fuck. She wasn't going to bring THAT up, was she? She couldn't be that vindictive. To do that would be venturing into cruel. "Hitch, I swear to God-"

Ymir cut him off. "You two can have your couple's quarrel later."

"I'm not sure who's supposed to be the other half of my couple here." Hitch giggled.

"We're actually a polyamorous threesome." Armin said dryly. Jean snorted loudly, which made Armin laugh.

"Alright, I'm cutting you off again because you all didn't get the hint the first time." Ymir huffed jokingly.

"Sorry, Mom." Jean smirked.

"Don't ever call me that again." Ymir said. "Ok. Never have I ever intentionally touched a dick…with any part of my body."

Armin just sighed as he took his shot. Also drinking were Reiner, Mikasa, Sasha, Hitch, and Mina. "Does it count if it's your own?" Connie asked.

"Yes, so drink you dirty masturbator." Ymir said. Connie, Marco, and Bertolt all drank. "Annie, I'm proud of you. You don't need penises in your life."

"Okay, I'm switching to lower alcohol content." Mikasa said, standing up. "Does anyone else want some cider or beer? Armin, don't even bother raising your hand, you're switching."

"Could I get some water?" Marco asked.

"I'll switch with Armin." Jean said.

"Anyone else?" Mikasa asked. "Also, know that if you puke on my floor, I'm breaking bones." Connie and Sasha looked at each other before they both raised their hands.

"Fuck it. I'll switch too." Reiner said.

"Yeah, might as well." Hitch sighed.

"I'll take a beer please, Mikasa." Bertolt said sweetly.

"I'll just grab some for everybody and you all can sort out what you want." Mikasa said.

"Let me help." Armin scrambled to his feet and followed her out of the room.

"So, having fun?" Mikasa asked as soon as they were alone.

"Yeah. Are you? It's your birthday party after all."

"I am. This is nice. Learning all sorts of things about our friends." She smiled.

"Yeah, things you would never expect." He stood next to the fridge and took the bottles she handed to him.

"So, Jean seems awfully protective of you tonight." Mikasa grinned.

Armin breathed out a quick sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. I'm not the only one who noticed."

"I definitely noticed. And you almost got yourself in trouble with that Marco comment."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Most uncomfortable minute of my life and I've lived a pretty shitty life."

Mikasa laughed as she straightened up, her arms also full of bottles. "Let's go, Lover Boy."

The drinks were placed on the coffee table and distributed around the room. "It's my turn then." Mina said. "Let me think. Never have I ever punched someone."

"Well, we can't all have an even temper, can we?" Ymir said before taking a drink. Almost all of the group drank, with the exception of Marco, Historia, and Armin.

"Wow, I have a lot of violent friends." Mina giggled.

"I'm next." Marco said. "Ok. Never have I ever gotten so drunk I threw up." The group collectively groaned. Apparently, what Armin had gone through at Marco's party was a fairly universal experience. The only ones not the drink were Mina and Bertolt.

"Marco, you live a very soft, boring life, don't you?" Hitch asked.

"Yes, and I enjoy it very much." Marco shot back.

"My turn!" Sasha exclaimed.

"You know you don't get to drink when it's your turn, right?" Ymir smirked.

"Yes, I am aware." Sasha frowned slightly before smiling again. "Never have I ever listened to One Direction." She looked at Mikasa as she said it.

"You know what? There is nothing wrong with their music!" Mikasa glared before taking a drink. Armin laughed as he took his sip of cider. He'd listened to them a lot while hanging out with Mikasa. Historia drank, as did Ymir.

"Ymir!" Sasha gasped.

"What? Historia likes them." Ymir shrugged.

Connie snorted loudly when Reiner took a drink. "They play them all the time at the store." Reiner said quickly.

"There's nothing wrong with liking boy bands." Annie reached over and patted his knee.

"Amen sister." Hitch said before taking a swig. Jean also drank.

"Really, Jean?" Connie raised an eyebrow.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Jean said flatly. Mina and Marco also drank.

"Well, I guess it's my turn." Connie said with a sigh.

"You don't have anything, do you?" Ymir grinned.

"Shut up! Just give me a damn second." He snapped back. That made everyone laugh. "Never have I ever cleaned a toilet."

"Believe me, I KNOW." Jean huffed, making everyone laugh.

"It wouldn't kill you to start." Marco said softly.

"Or learn to aim your dick like a grown man." Jean muttered.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"You ARE a little messy." Sasha said as she took a sip. Everyone else took a sip too.

"Not you too." Connie's voice softened.

"That's it. I've changed my mind. Sasha can stay in the house. Connie, it's you that has to go now." Jean said.

"This was not a thing to be proud of, Connie." Reiner said.

While Armin was grossed out, he also felt bad for Connie. "I'm sure we can all think of someone else who has never cleaned a toilet."

"FLoch." Hitch, Jean, and Marco all said in unison.

"That's not company I want to be in!" Connie exclaimed.

"Then clean your damn toilet!" Ymir yelled.

"Moving on from this gross ass topic, it's my turn." Hitch had a devilish grin on her face that made Armin's blood run cold.

"Hitch no." he said softly.

"Hitch yes." She answered.

"What have I ever done to you? Name one thing."

"Nothing. I'm just a cold hearted bitch."

"What the fuck do you have on him?" Ymir asked.

"Never have I ever kissed-"

Armin took drastic action. He dove over Jean and slapped his hand over Hitch's mouth, tackling her into the couch. "Shut up!" he yelled.

"Well, Arlert has become infinitely more interesting. What did you do? Who were you kissing? We need answers." Ymir declared.

Hitch wiggled under Armin, trying to get her mouth free. They both rolled into Connie, who pushed them off the couch. As they hit the floor, Hitch on top of Armin, her mouth came free. "FLOCH!" She practically screamed. "Never have I ever kissed Floch!"

Armin went limp, and his face turned red. That was meant to be a dirty little secret that was carried to the grave. "You did WHAT?" Connie yelled.

The room was in an uproar, with everyone talking at once. Armin wanted them all to shut up. "When did this happen?" Mina asked.

"WHY?" Reiner demanded.

"Where were you kissing him?" Historia asked.

"How many times?" Bertolt questioned.

"Was it with tongue?" Sasha implored.

"No, but seriously, why?" Reiner repeated. Ymir was just cackling.

"Armin, you never told me." Mikasa said softly.

"Would all of you shut up?" Jean roared over them. "SHUT! UP!"

The room quieted down. Armin could have kissed Jean in that moment. "But I need to know-" Reiner continued.

"Okay, one, you kissed Eren Jaeger so you don't get to judge anyone else." Jean snapped. "Two, Armin doesn't owe any of you an explanation. And three, get OFF of him you devil woman!" Jean pushed Hitch off of Armin. She just fell to the side, laughing.

"We've all kissed people we wished we hadn't." Marco said diplomatically.

"Yeah, except Connie." Mina giggled.

"What the hell did I do?" Connie yelled.

"Not kiss Hannah." Annie said wryly, making the whole room laugh.

Mikasa and Jean helped Armin sit up and he returned to where he had been sitting. He took a deep breath. "It's….fine. I mean, since everyone knows now-" he shot his most menacing glare at Hitch, and she had the decency to look sheepish. "I was at work at the library, the late night shift. Floch came in, as he always does, but Marlowe wasn't with him, which was weird." He sighed.

"That is weird." Hitch confirmed. "Those two are apart less than Armin and Eren."

"No one asked you." Jean hissed, digging an elbow into her side.

"Anyway," Armin continued. "Floch was following me around, as I was doing reshelving. We were just talking, and suddenly, he grabbed my face and was kissing me. I didn't know what to do, so I just froze."

"How does Hitch know?" Historia asked.

"THAT was when she walked in." he sighed heavily. "And she made some sort of sarcastic comment and Floch bolted."

"I believe I said something along the lines of 'Oh, apparently I am interrupting something I never wanted to see.' Because let's be honest, NONE of us want to see Floch maul anyone's face." Hitch said.

"She does have a point." Sasha chimed in.

"When was this?" Annie asked.

"Last spring."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Mikasa asked. Armin knew she meant why didn't he tell her.

He looked down at the carpet. "I was embarrassed."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of." Jean said, patting his leg. "It's never your fault when you get assaulted by a creep."

"Amen." Ymir said. "Do you want me to sock him next time I see him?"

He looked up at her. "Thank you, but no."

"Can I sock him anyway? I'm sure he's done something else to deserve it."

"YMIR!" Historia scolded. That made Armin smile.

"Is that why you didn't want to tell us how many guys you had kissed?" Bertolt asked.

"Yeah."

"Understandable." Sasha nodded her head.

"So…how many have you?" Connie asked after a moment.

"Oh, short stuff, as insensitive as ever." Ymir sighed.

"You're one to talk." Connie shot back.

"Six." Armin said, looking at Jean.

"What number was Floch?" Hitch asked.

"Do you really get to ask questions here?" Mikasa asked, sounding offended.

"He was five. And I have to say, six was a major improvement over five, even if I was sloppy drunk." He heard Mikasa snort. Jean grinned, and Armin felt him relax. Clearly, he had upset Jean with stuff he had said earlier, but this made up for it. Good.

"Okay, enough about Armin's love life. It's my turn and I know exactly what I'm going to say." He shot a look at Hitch that made her pale.

"You wouldn't."

"I would and I'm going to." He smirked before looking at the group. "Never have I ever cried after sex."

Everyone's jaw dropped open and the room was silent. "Finally, Ymir spoke. "Is it Christmas? Because it feels like Christmas."

"Shut up." Hitch sulked, taking her drink.

"Who did you have sex with that made you cry?" Annie asked.

"I'm not talking about it."

"Was it because it hurt?" Mina asked.

"I said I'm not talking about it." Hitch crossed her arms.

"It doesn't feel good, does it?" Jean asked in a superior tone. Armin didn't like when he was like this.

"Shut the fuck up."

"Armin was a better sport about it." Connie said.

"You can shut the fuck up too." Hitch punched him on the arm.

"OW! What the hell?"

"Karma's a bitch." Mikasa muttered.

"I don't think we're getting answers out of Sulky Sally, so Armin, it's your turn." Reiner said.

"I hate all of you." Hitch grumbled.

"We love you too." Ymir replied.

"Ok, I have a good one. Never have I ever been to church." Armin said.

"Damn you." Mikasa said, taking a drink. Bertolt, Reiner, Historia, Ymir, Sasha, Connie, Hitch, and Jean all took a drink.

"Really? I've been to church but you haven't?" Ymir asked, clearly flabbergasted.

"I'm an atheist." Armin replied. "And it's not exactly like I had the most stable upbringing."

"What about the rest of you?" Connie asked.

"I'm Jewish." Annie said flatly.

"Me too." Marco said.

"Me three." Mina chimed in.

"I'm Jewish on my mother's side." Hitch said. "But my dad's Christian so I got dragged to both services. It's why I cried when I lost my virginity. Because I felt like a bad Jew AND a bad Christian." She kicked Jean in the ribs.

"Ow! Bitch!"

"See, that makes it not funny. That makes it sad." Mina said.

"How about now?" Ymir asked.

Hitch grinned. "Now I KNOW I'm a bad Jew and a bad Christian. Because I don't want to be either."

"That's my girl!" Ymir grinned. "Cheers to agnostic lesbians and the first round being over!"

"Cheers!" They all raised their bottles and taking a drink. Armin felt Jean lean against him and smiled. This was turning into a great night.


	8. Chapter 8

**They Don't Think I Listen**

Jean POV

Jean had his school things all packed up and waiting on the kitchen table when Marco arrived. "Okay. All ready to go."

Marco paused. "Um…go where?"

"The library. Duh. That IS where you guys go every Saturday night, isn't it?"

"Yeeesss…"

"Why are you acting so weird? Do you not want me to go or something?" Jean crossed his arms.

"It's not that. I'm just trying to process what's happening here."

"What's there to process? I can't want to go to the library?"

"It's certainly a new phenomenon."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Marco arched an eyebrow. "You are the same man who said, and this is a direct quote here, 'What the hell is the point of the library when all the information is online and I can access it from my own house, without having to deal with dumbass people?'"

"When did I say that? Like freshman year?"

"Three weeks ago."

"Oh." Jean grew quiet for a moment. He did vaguely remember saying that. "Well, a person is entitled to change their mind."

"Uh huh." Marco rolled his eyes. "I think you have no intention of going there to study."

"What else would I be doing?"

"You're going there to see a certain someone."

"What are you insinuating, Marco? Are you saying I shouldn't go?"

"I'm not telling you to do anything, except to stop being so defensive." Marco said, pulling on his coat. "You're a grown man who is capable of making his own decisions. Just know that there are people there who don't take distractions well."

"I won't be a distraction." Jean said, happily pulling on his coat. Marco was right. He only wanted to go so he could see Armin.

"Oh, and Floch will be there."

"Son of a bitch!"

Jean frowned immediately upon entering the library. "Son of a bitch." He muttered to himself. There, at the table behind the service desk, was stupid Floch.

"I warned you." Marco whispered. "You chose to come anyway so be nice."

"You ask a lot of me." Jean whispered back as they approached.

Floch's stupid eyes widened as he saw Jean. "What in the hell are you-ow!" Jean suddenly noticed Marlowe was sitting there because he elbowed Floch in the ribs…hard.

"Hello, Jean. Nice to see you." Marlowe said as Floch rubbed his side.

"Hey Marlowe." Jean replied. "I thought you worked Saturday nights."

"I am working."

"No." A familiar female voice said from behind Jean. He turned around in time to see Hitch pop up from behind the service desk and slam a pile of books down. "WE are working."

Jean's heart skipped a beat when Armin also appeared from behind the counter, setting down his pile of books gently. He smiled brightly. "Hi, Jean! This is a pleasant surprise."

Hitch raised an eyebrow. "Yes. It certainly is. I thought you hated libraries."

"Oh, don't you start." Jean groaned as he and Marco sat down at the table. He noticed a backpack on the chair next to his and knew it wasn't Armin or Hitch's.

"You're in my seat." A dull voice said from behind him.

Jean turned around to see Annie. He had known her long enough to know to get out of her way. "Oh, sorry!" he said, jumping to his feet.

"What are you scared?" Floch asked in a condescending tone.

"You're stupid if you're not." Jean replied, sitting down next to Annie.

"Annie's like five feet tall, what's she going to-OW!" Floch grabbed his shin. "Why the hell did you kick me?" He glared at Annie.

"Why are you talking to me?" Annie retorted. "We're here to study, not have a dick slapping contest." Jean knew who Marco had meant when he said there were people who didn't like distractions. "So, both of you, put your dicks away and shut up." Annie pulled out a book and started to read. The table grew quiet as they all got to work on something.

Jean was pulled from his focus by the ringing of the phone. Suddenly, Armin's voice rang out. "Sina Memorial Library. How may I help you?" Jean glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that an hour and a half had gone by already. He hadn't known he could be so focused with so many other people around. "Hitch, it's for you." Armin handed the phone over to her.

"Hello? This is Hitch." She answered. "No, Kyle. I told you, I'm not going out with you…ever. It's because you're a fuckboy, Kyle. An absolute fuckboy and I have no time for you." She looked at them and rolled her eyes. "Oh my god. I'm at work right now. I don't have time to talk to you. Actually, how did you even get this number? I didn't think you even knew what a library was. Hey, there's no need for name calling now, Kyle. How can I be a slut if I didn't fuck you…or any of your dumbass friends? Thanks for the free drinks though. Yeah, I'm hanging up now. Fuck off now, Kyle. Buhbye." She hung up and sighed. "I think that's my last time going out with a frat boy."

"I thought you were a lesbian. Why are you going out with guys at all?" Jean asked.

"Because they buy me things."

"Awe, Hitch. You're pretty enough, I'm sure plenty of lesbians would buy you drinks." Armin patted her on the arm.

"You're right, Ar. But I enjoy using my beauty to con fuckboys out of their parents money."

"A worthy cause." Jean smirked.

"You have problems." Marlowe rolled his eyes and turned back to his work.

"Shouldn't you be doing some real work instead of sitting on your ass for two hours getting paid to do your homework?" Hitch retorted, crossing her arms.

"Oh, leave him alone." Floch said.

"You stay out of this or else."

"Or else what-ow!" He turned to glare at Annie.

"Shut up." She said flatly.

"Stop kicking me-SON OF A BITCH!"

"I said shut up."

Jean thought it was hilarious that out of everyone talking, the only one she was kicking was Floch. Just then, the phone rang again. "Sina Memorial Library. How may I help you?" Armin answered. "No, Kyle. She's not going to talk to you. No, I don't think she's playing hard to get. She just doesn't want to talk to you. No, Kyle-"

Hitch seized the phone from Armin's hand. "Fuck off, Kyle. Don't call here again." She slammed the phone down. "Fuckboys." She groaned.

"That's what you get for going out with them and leading them on." Marlowe shook his head.

"It's not my fault that these men only seem to think women are there for them to put their dicks in. Am I right, Annie?"

"I'm not a part of this." Annie said without looking up.

"Well, I think-" Floch started.

"Literally no one cares." Hitch interrupted before the phone started ringing again. "Oh lord."

"Sina Memorial-No." Armin said. "Hush now, Kyle." He hung up the phone.

Jean couldn't help but start laughing. "Did you just tell him to hush?"

"Well, swearing at him wasn't working." He shrugged.

The phone started ringing again and Hitch groaned. "He certainly seems desperate, doesn't he?" Marco commentated.

"I'm going to kill this kid." Annie said through gritted teeth.

"Why don't you just let the phone ring?" Jean asked.

"We're obligated to answer." Armin sighed. "It could be our boss."

"It's not." Hitch sighed as Armin answered the phone again.

"Sina Mem-Lord give me patience." He looked towards the ceiling for a moment. Jean didn't think he'd seen Armin this exasperated in a while. Armin put his hand over the receiver. "Hey, Marlowe, I have a job for you. Make him stop calling." He held out the phone.

Marlowe huffed, pushed his chair back, and grabbed the phone from Armin's outstretched hand. "Look, dude. You're clogging up my phone line here with your incessant calling. So knock it off. She's not going to talk to you, so you're just coming off as a desperate, annoying, little puissant. Yeah, everyone here has been making fun of you."

"Savage, Marlowe." Jean grinned.

Marlowe ignored him and continued. "No, I don't feel sorry for you. You should have seen her coming from a mile away, given how she played all of your friends. You're pretty pathetic if you fell for that. Well, you can complain all you want, I AM the supervisor. Yeah. I'm not kidding you. So, look, we're all getting pretty tired of how disruptive you're being. This is a library after all, people are here trying to work. Yes, there are. That's sort of the purpose of the library. Wow, she wasn't exaggerating about how stupid you are. Yeah, well this is it, dude. We can't have you continuously calling all night. She's not going to talk to you. She was scamming you for free shit. She doesn't even like men. Yeah, so look, if you call here again, I'm calling the cops. Yes, seriously. Yes, I am 100% serious. I will report you for harassment if you call again, and I have a dozen people here who will act as witnesses. Yes. Would you like to speak to them? I can put you on speaker phone. No? I didn't think so. Goodbye now. Have a good night." He handed the phone back to Armin to hang up. "Jackass." He muttered.

"Do you think he'll stop calling now?" Marco asked.

"He better. I wasn't kidding about the cops."

"Are you really a supervisor?" Jean asked.

"Yes."

"In the loosest definition of the term." Hitch added.

"Shut up, Hitch."

"Why do you keep picking on him?" Floch demanded.

"Are you fucking Marlowe or something? Why are you defending him so much?" Hitch shot back. Floch's face turned beet red and he turned around. "That's what I thought. And you're not special, Marlowe. Oh boy, you get to lock up at night."

"You know what-" The phone started ringing, and Marlowe snapped. He stood up and seized the phone before Armin could grab it. "I wasn't fucking kidding about the cops, asshole-oh. Hi, Eren." He deflated and his voice went flat.

"Give me that." Armin said.

"Why? How do you know it's for you?" Marlowe asked.

Armin made a face. "Who the hell else would Eren be trying to call here? YOU?" He took advantage of the look of surprise on Marlowe's face and seized the phone.

"He has a point." Hitch laughed.

"That's enough out of you." Marlowe sighed, sitting back down. "I don't need it from both of you."

"What's up, Eren?" Armin asked into the phone. "Ok, slow down so I can understand you. What happened? Her mom called you? Why would her-is she okay? She doesn't know. Okay, well let me get my phone and I will try. Yes, I'm at work. Of course Marlowe's not doing anything."

"Hey!" Marlowe exclaimed, making Hitch giggle.

"Yeah, I know. Hitch had some guy that kept calling, clogging up the phone line. Yeah. Yes, dude. I've got it from here. Ok, I'm hanging up now. Bye. Yeah, I'll let you know."

They all stared at Armin as he hung up the phone. "Is everything okay?" Marco asked.

"I have to go." Armin said.

"What? You can't go." Marlowe proclaimed.

"Oh, shut up, Marlowe." Hitch groaned. "Boohoo. You have to do some work for once instead of getting paid to sit on your ass." She turned to look at Armin. "You go on and don't you feel bad for putting on your timesheet that you worked your full shift."

"He can't do that!" Marlowe objected.

"Oh, like you don't game the system every time you come in? You're gaming the system right now!"

"She does have a point." Floch said.

"Dude! I thought you were supposed to be on my side."

"I'm just saying, you are kind of the pot calling the kettle black here." Floch shrugged.

"Uh oh. Marital discord." Jean smirked.

"Why do you have to leave?" Annie asked Armin, cutting off the brewing fight.

"I guess Mikasa's mom hasn't heard from her since last night. They had a fight. Mikasa left and now she's worried."

"So she called Eren?" Jean raised an eyebrow.

"She's deperate. She tried calling me." Armin held up his cell phone. "It's likely she tried calling here too but couldn't get through for the same reason Eren couldn't."

"The fuckboy." Hitch said quietly.

"Exactly. Anyway, I have a couple ideas of where she might be, so I'm going to go look for her." Armin said as he pulled on his coat.

"Why can't you go look for her after your shift?" Marlowe asked.

"You better watch yourself, or I'm going to tell Nifa what you do and get your keys taken away." Hitch crossed her arms.

"Nifa won't believe you."

"Yeah, but she'll believe Armin." Hitch put her hands on her hips, a position she assumed when she knew she had played her trump card.

"Shit. Armin is Nifa's favorite." Marlowe looked down.

"Duh. Armin is everyone's favorite." Annie said.

"Even Floch's." Hitch grinned wickedly.

"Shut your mouth, you damn succubus!" Floch yelled.

"Yeah, I'm leaving now." Armin said.

"I'll come with you." Jean said, standing up.

"Oh. You don't have to."

"I want to."

"I bet you do-OW!" Floch glared at Annie, who just quietly returned to her book.

Jean quickly pulled on his coat, grabbed his stuff and followed Armin out the door. He could hear Marlowe griping and Hitch telling him to shut up before they were outside, and he couldn't hear anymore. "Do you think Mikasa's okay?"

"Oh yeah, she can more than fend for herself. All this came about because she has this habit of retreating whenever she gets in a fight with the people she loves. She hides away and beats herself up over not agreeing with them and causing a fight. This happened a lot with Eren."

"I could see that."

"And she tends to go to the same couple of places. So, we can rule out her bedroom since the fight was with her mom."

"So, where else is there?"

"I'm going to check the science building first."

"The science building? But she's not a science major. How does she know the science building?"

Armin just looked at him. "We're friends. We spend a lot of time together. Anyway, there's a cozy little lounge that she likes there. If she's not there, we can check the student union building. There's a little alcove she likes."

"If she goes to these places after fights to hide from everyone, how do you know where they are?"

"Because I'm her best friend and she's mine. We know each other." He shrugged. "Everyone always thinks of it as me and Eren, or her and Eren. They always seem to forget that there's a third dynamic that doesn't involve Eren at all. Contrary to popular belief, our world doesn't revolve around him."

"I didn't think you knew about that."

"No one ever thinks I know about the gossip. They don't think I listen. But just because I'm quiet, it doesn't mean I'm deaf. And anyway, if you wanted an accurate description, Eren's world revolves around us. He doesn't really know how to function without us. Why do you think he's such a mess? And why he's been so nasty?"

"I don't honestly know what goes on in Jaeger's head. I always just assumed he had a circus in place of a brain."

"That's mostly the ADHD."

"Oh."

"No, he grew angry because he felt like she was leaving him…leaving us. Eren's always thought of us as a unit. Then we got into college and everything changed. Eren's not really good with change. And since his mom died and he dad checked out on being a parent, he's been even worse. He's terrified of being left alone, but he's going about it the completely wrong way."

"I'd sure say so." Jean muttered.

"It's like he forgot that he has other friends. That there are other people who care about him. And it's not that Mikasa DOESN'T care. She does. She still loves him. Buy why should she have to put up with his shitty behavior? That's even more damaging to her."

"She deserves more than him."

"She deserves more than how Eren is behaving right now. Eren can be amazing. He's passionate and kind and loyal as all hell. He will jump into any fight, no questions asked, just to have your back. He's…incredible. But not right now."

Jean grew quiet as they walked into the science building. Thinking on it, he could vaguely remember Eren being the way Armin had just described, way back in high school. He was brash and loud and annoying, but Eren could be a good friend. "So, when do you think he'll pull his head out of his ass?"

"Soon, I hope." Armin led them up the stairs. "Unfortunately, I think it's going to take something big to get him out of his own head."

Before Jean could ask what he meant by that, they walked through the doors at the top of the stairs, and there on a couch sat Mikasa. "Oh, thank goodness." He breathed.

"Miki, here you are. You have everyone worried." Armin closed the gap as she stood up and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry." She murmured into his shoulder.

"Would it have killed you to send your mom a text saying that you're still alive? She's been going crazy."

"My phone died." She said, pulling away.

"She called Eren."

"She did WHAT?"

"She was desparate. She thought you might be dead in a ditch…or possibly doing hard drugs in a whorehouse. You know how your mom gets." Armin shrugged. Jean felt like an intruder to this conversation.

"I guess." Mikasa looked around and gave a slight wave to Jean. "Hey, Jean."

"Hey, Mikasa." He gave her an awkward wave back.

"Miki, where did you sleep last night?" Armin asked. When Mikasa wouldn't make eye contact, Armin's face grew disappointed. "Don't tell me you slept here. Mikasa, we talked about this."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you call me?"

"You know how I am."

Armin sighed. "Where are you planning on sleeping tonight?"

She shrugged. "I'm not ready to go home yet."

Jean felt the need to interject at this point. "You know, you're welcome to crash at my place."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We can head there now."

"Okay."

Armin seemed to sigh in relief. "Then, I should head back to work."

"You definitely shouldn't. Let Hitch work Marlowe half to death for once. It'll be hilarious."

"Yeah, I guess." Armin smiled. "I do have some homework I should get a head start on."

"That's the spirit." Jean grinned. "Never thought I would be encouraging you to do homework, but if it gets you to blow off work for once, then okay."

"Alright, stop encouraging Armin to make bad decisions." Mikasa smiled. She grabbed her coat and put it on before slinging her backpack on her shoulder. "Let's get out of here." They descended the stairs and walked outside. Mikasa grabbed Armin's hand and squeezed it. "Thanks for finding me."

"Always." Armin replied, squeezing her hand back, before leaning forward and giving Mikasa a kiss on the cheek. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"Okay." She smiled, before Armin started walking off towards his dorm. She and Jean started off towards his car.

Jean smiled at her. "A co-ed sleepover. Whatever would my mother say?"

"I don't think I have the right parts for you."

Jean shrugged his shoulders. "Not all of us decided to play for just one team." He winked at her.

"Oh geez." She playfully shook her head.

"Besides, you've always had the right parts for me." He playfully flicked her hair.

"Settle down there, Kirschstein. Or I might have to find somewhere else to sleep." Mikasa swatted his hand.

"No worries, Ackerman. I gave up on you a long time ago. You're my friend, nothing else. And besides, I've got my eye on someone else." He turned and looked back. In the distance, he could just see Armin disappearing over the rise of a hill. He felt a little sad that Armin hadn't looked back.

Mikasa looked in the same direction. "Well, if you really want him, you're going to have to make the first move. He wants you, but lord knows he won't do anything about it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Jean said, looking at her. "But in the meantime, let's get out of this cold."1


End file.
